Losing Control
by Kohala
Summary: When Seven-year-old Ron begins acting strange and threatens the safety of himself and others it's up to his family to figure out what has happened to the once mischievous, playful, little boy.
1. Prologue

Summary: When Ron begins acting strange and threatens the safety of himself and others it's up to his family to figure out what has happened to the once mischievous, playful, 7 year old boy.

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with J.K. Rowling or the Harry Potter franchise. I just enjoy writing fanfictions with the stolen character.

-o-o-

Prologue

_Night began to envelope the small cottages nestled amongst the thick forest. Streaks of pinks and purples gave way to navy blues and twinkling stars in the sky. Warm yellow light poured out of the windows of a small, stone house tucked right in the centre of the forest. Within the house, the inhabitants were preparing for bed,_

_The youngest walked around the house, drawing the curtains closed. She stopped suddenly and smiled as she caught sight of her father and brother emerging from the trees, tired after a long day of labor. _

"_All right, girls," the mother called from the kitchen. "Brush you hair and get into your pajamas. Once you're in bed, your father will read you a story."_

_Both girls smiled and raced off to the bedroom. The house was small, which meant both daughters had to share a bed in the room they shared with their parents and brother._

_After brushing their long, black hair and changing into their night dresses, they crawled into their bed and listened as their father greeted their mother and made his way to the bedroom._

"_I see my children are eager to find out what happens next in our story," the father chuckled as he looked upon his waiting daughters. "What did you learn today, Alice?" He sat on the edge of the bed and opened the leather-bound book that had been placed on the shelf above the bed._

"_Mama taught me how to use the levitation charm today," the eldest daughter replied. "I was able to levitate a quill and Sophie's woolen hat."_

"_Such a bright girl," the father beamed. "Did you both help your mother with the washing up and the gardening?" Both girls nodded with smiling faces._

"_Wonderful," the father chuckled. "Well, let's not waste any more time. Where did we leave off?"_

"_You stopped reading just as the prince reached the dragon's lair and met up with the dragon," replied Sophie eagerly. "Please read it papa. We've been waiting all day to find out what happens."_

"_All right. All right," the father laughed. "Let's not waste any more time." He leaned against the headboard, propping himself up with a pillow, and began reading._

_As he read, both girls stared at the pictures with anticipation, gasping as the father read about the brave muggle prince fighting with a fire-breathing dragon to save the maiden trapped within the dragon's lair._

"_I think we should leave the happy ending for tomorrow night," the father announced as he closed the book and set it back upon the shelf. "It is quite late and we should all be turning in."_

_He kissed the foreheads of both of his daughters and tucked them in beneath the quilt their mother had made for them._

"_You're still a bit warm, Sophie," the father stated as he placed the back of his hand on Sophie's forehead. "Have you taken your potion tonight?"_

"_Yes, papa," Sophie replied softly._

"_Good girl. Sleep tight, my daughters," the father whispered as he doused the light and walked back to the kitchen where his wife and son were washing up._

_He sat at the table and leaned back in his chair, finally allowing himself to relax for the night. _

"_Did you show mum the wood we brought home, papa?" the son asked as he sat across the table from his father._

"_I did not," the father replied. "Did you leave it in the pile, David?" The son nodded and looked over at his mother._

"_While gathering wood for the fire we discovered the strangest tree, mum," David explained. "We didn't notice until we chopped it all down, but there were markings all over the inside; like someone had carved out messages in the wood."_

_They were interrupted suddenly as the front door flew off its hinges. The father quickly leapt to his feet and pulled his wand from his pocket. Both his wife and son grabbed for their wands and faced the hideous beast emerging from the darkness outside. With a wave of its hand, the beast sent the three wands flying across the room._

_It had to duck its head as it entered the small, stone house and was just able to stand at its full height once inside. It was as though the beast's body was not fully corporeal. It seemed to be between shadow and flesh; completely black except its angry red eyes. The beast half floated, half walked, into the kitchen and growled threateningly at the terrified family._

_Alice and Sophie scrambled out of their bed and ran to the bedroom door to see what was happening in the kitchen. Their father turned and looked horrified to see them standing in view of the beast._

"_Girls! Back into your room and close the door!" he shouted._

_Alice grabbed Sophie's hand and tried to pull her back into their bedroom, but Sophie wouldn't budge. _

_The beast threw its head back and let out an evil cackle before pulling its left hand into a fist. The mother screamed and dropped to her knees, appearing to be in an overwhelming amount of pain._

"_Helen!" the father shouted. Both he and David raced toward the mother, but froze on the spot as the beast slapped both of its hands together. It growled loudly and pointed at their father. He dropped to the floor without a sound, his life torn away from his body. David looked down in horror, still incapable of moving._

_The beast waved his arm, sending David flying across the room. David hit the stone wall with a crack and crumpled to the floor, unconscious._

"_No!" Sophie screamed and backed herself into the corner by the door, dropping to the floor and pulling her knees to her chest. She continued to scream as the beast stood over their mother and continued to send waves of pain through her body._

"_No! Stop, please!" Sophie continued to scream. "Please don't!" _

_Alice seemed to be in shock. She couldn't move from the doorframe where she was standing. _

_The beast turned to face the two girls and smiled evilly before releasing his magical hold on their mother. She slumped to the floor, losing the fight to remain conscious._

_The beast rounded on the two girls and stood in complete silence, watching them both cower next to the bedroom door. It laughed maliciously and took a step toward them._

-o-o-

A/N: Ok, I promise this is a Ron Weasley fic! I alternate between the two stories throughout, but it will all make sense in the end. Enjoy the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Just a short chapter to start. I've been working on this story for over a year now as I wanted it to have a good flow. I also wanted to have it finished before I posted it as I kept adding bits and pieces and moving ideas around to fit into the story better. I hope this made it more enjoyable to read! Enough prattle from me. Enjoy the story!

-o-o-

"Fred Weasley, get out of that tree!" Molly Weasley shouted through the open kitchen window. She watched as six of her seven children raced around the yard finding places to hide as Percy counted to one hundred with his face buried in his hands. She smiled and wiped her hands on her apron. It was a rare sight to see Percy playing with his siblings. He usually had his nose stuck in a book or stayed hidden away in his room to avoid the twins. He would be off to Hogwarts for the first time in the fall, which would provide him with at least a few months respite from the twin terrors.

She watched as her children disappeared, one-by-one, into their various hiding places. Fred and George stayed relatively close together in amongst the trees while Ginny hid in the large cornfield. The large stalks of corn were a few feet taller than her, so she disappeared immediately. Ron ran down the path in the woods and ducked into the trees, while Bill grabbed his broom and hid on the roof of the shed and Charlie hid around the side of the house.

Although the spot Charlie chose should make him easy to find, he had a certain stealth about him. He would be able to slip around the house without making a sound and race to their home-free spot before anyone could notice him.

Charlie's skills worried Molly. He spent most of his time at Hogwarts with the game keeper, Hagrid, and was always talking about dragons and other large beasts. He seemed to be destined to work with large, dangerous beasts once he was finished with school.

Molly continued to watch her children play as Percy began searching for his siblings. It wasn't very often to have all seven Weasley children getting along and she didn't know how long it would last. They tended to get along better when Charlie and Bill were home from school. The two of them kept the twins at bay and took the little ones under their wings.

"I see you there, George!" Percy shouted as he pointed toward his poorly-hidden brother.

"Doesn't count!" Fred shouted. "I'm not George!"

"It still counts!" Percy shouted back, running to tag Fred before he could reach the stump next to the shed that they had designated as "home-free".

Ron continued running through the trees. He was quite far from the Burrow and couldn't see any of his siblings anymore, but he could hear Percy and Fred shouting in the distance.

He raced further into the woods than he'd ever gone before. His parents had always warned him not to wander too far from the house, but he wasn't worried about getting lost. As long as he could hear his brothers shouting, he knew he'd be able to make his way back home.

He spotted a large, gnarled tree and ran to hide behind it. He knew it would be the best spot to hide. Percy would never find him.

There was a large hollow where the roots had pulled away from the ground, creating a great hideaway. Getting on his hands and knees, Ron crawled beneath the tree and waited for his brother to come searching for him.

The entire inside of the tree was covered in small, red carvings. Ron ran his fingers over some of the indentations and tried to figure out what they meant. Each marking he touched began to glow momentarily and fizzle out as he pulled his fingers away. Ron crinkled his brow before smiling and running both hands along the inside of the tree. The markings glowed bright enough to light the entire inside of the tree.

"Cool," Ron marveled, pulling his hands away from the marred wood once again. Just as he was about to place his hands on the markings for the third time, the wood began to creak and the hole Ron had crawled through to get into the tree began closing.

Ron gasped and tried to stop the tree from closing, but was soon trapped inside the trunk of the tree. He screamed for his brothers and for his mum to come save him as he clawed at the inside of the tree. The inside of the tree lit up so brightly that he had to shield his eyes with the back of his forearm. His skin prickled and he could hear whispered voices all around him. As he screamed for help once more, his voice was masked by multiple screams within the tree.

-o-o-

A/N: I figured you wouldn't mind the chapter being so short seeing as the next chapter is already up. So, what did you think of this chapter? Do you have an idea of what's to come? Let me know what you thought of this chapter by reviewing or commenting. Off to the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 2

"Ok, Ron!" Percy shouted. "I give up! You've gotten too good at hiding!"

Bill, Charlie, and Percy looked around the yard, waiting for the youngest Weasley boy to pop out from his hiding place. Their mother had called them in for tea, ending their game just as Percy found Bill. Charlie and Ginny had both made it back to "home-free" without getting caught and Fred and George had been caught quite early in the game.

"Come on, Ron!" Bill called. "You're going to get an ear-full from mum if you aren't at the table for tea!"

Charlie nudged Bill with his elbow and nodded toward the woods. "I saw him duck into the trees when we started. Do you think the little guy got lost?"

"Grab your broom," Bill sighed. "Let's go look before mum figures out he's gone missing." Charlie nodded and ran to get his broom from the shed.

"You lot go get ready for tea," Bill instructed. "Let mum know we'll be inside in a moment." The remaining Weasley children raced into the Burrow to wash up for tea while Bill and Charlie rushed to the shed to get their brooms.

Before they could kick off the ground, Ron stepped out of the trees and began walking to the Burrow. He looked slightly disheveled and was walking with an odd, stiff shuffle. He walked right passed Charlie and Bill without acknowledging their presence.

"Ronnie?" Charlie asked. "Hold up for a second!" He dropped his broom and grabbed Ron's arm before he could get away. He knelt in front of his little brother and tried to get Ron to make eye contact with him.

Ron frowned and looked down at his older brother. He jerked his hand away and took a step back.

"Charlie?" he asked, sounding both frightened and confused.

"Hey," Charlie encouraged. "Where were you hiding little man? You had us well panicked for a moment there."

Ron's eyes slowly moved to look at the Burrow and his expression became vacant again. He stepped around Charlie and continued shuffling toward the house.

"I've been called to tea," Ron stated in a detached monotone. "I've got to go."

Charlie looked up at Bill with utter confusion before getting to his feet and running after Ron. Bill joined him and the two of them stopped Ron from walking to the house.

"What's going on, Ronnie?" Bill asked softly. "You all right?" He put his hand on Ron's shoulder to prevent him from moving away and brushed Ron's hair away from his face.

"You're quite scraped up there, Ron," Charlie added. "Are you hurt?"

Ron stood completely still, looking at the Burrow. He blinked suddenly and seemed to regain some of his focus. He looked up at Charlie and Bill and smiled.

"Did I win?" he asked, looking around to see where his other siblings had gone. "I knew Percy wouldn't be able to find me!"

Molly stepped out of the house and crossed her arms sternly as she looked out at her three sons.

"Boys! Hurry in here before your tea gets cold!" she shouted.

Ron took off running toward the house before Charlie or Bill could stop him. They looked at one another, equally confused by Ron's behaviour.

"Do we tell mum and dad?" Charlie asked, scratching the back of his head and raising one eyebrow.

"I don't know what we would tell them," Bill replied, blowing out the breath he had been holding when they had been talking to Ron. "I have no idea what that was all about."

-o-o-

The colour orange dominated Ron's bedroom. The walls were covered in Chudley Cannons posters, the blanket on his bed donned the crest of the Chudley Cannons, and there were Chudley Cannons magazine clippings and programs scattered everywhere. He'd been a fan of the Quidditch team for as long as he could remember.

He rummaged through his cluttered dresser drawer and retrieved his favorite pajama t-shirt. It was Bill's at one point then it was passed down to Charlie. Charlie had given it to Ron once he'd grown out of it. It was quite tattered, but Ron refused to let his mum toss it out. He'd had to hide it on multiple occasions when Molly had threatened to take it away.

He cleared off his bed by pushing everything onto the floor and crawled beneath the covers just as his mum knocked on the door and walked in.

"All ready for bed?" She asked. "Oh, Ron. Not that old thing again!"

Ron smiled sheepishly and looked down at his t-shirt.

"But it's my favorite!" Ron pleaded, not meeting his mother's eye. Molly sighed and approached Ron's bedside, pulling his covers up to his neck and kissing his forehead.

"I'm well aware of that," Molly stated, smiling slightly. "I wish you'd find another favorite."

"Maybe once I've outgrown this one," Ron suggested with a grin. Molly smiled and kissed Ron's forehead before making her way over to the door.

"Goodnight, sweetheart," she whispered, dimming the lights in Ron's room with a flick of her wand. "Do you want me to leave the light on in the hall for you?"

Ron nodded and turned over onto his side, pulling the blankets tightly against him. He closed his eyes and yawned as Molly left his room, pulling the door only partway closed behind her to let some light into Ron's bedroom. Normally, she would try to encourage her children to sleep without a light, but poor Ron had ghoul living just above his bedroom.

Ghoul was completely harmless; just a bit of a pain. It would often rattle around up in the attic, which occasionally scared Ron enough to keep him from falling asleep. He was beginning to grow used to Ghoul's noises, but he still preferred to have some light pour into his room.

Molly stepped away from Ron's bedroom door and paused for a moment. As she listened, she could hear Ron begin to snore immediately. Of all of the Weasleys, Ron was able to fall asleep the fastest.

-o-o-

_Thump_

A sudden noise within his bedroom woke Ron with a start. He hadn't been sleeping long; maybe an hour or two. Everyone else in the house, including his parents, had gone to bed for the night. Ron sat up and rubbed his eyes, waiting for them to adjust to the small amount of light in his room.

The hinges of his bedroom door slowly began to creak as the door swung closed. Ron could feel his heart begin to race and he pulled his blankets tight against his chest.

"Hello?" he squeaked, sounding much more terrified than he had intended. "Fred? George?" His eyes scanned the darkened room for anything out of place. "…Ginny?"

He held his breath, listening for any movement within his room. He considered calling out for his parents, but couldn't seem to build up the courage.

Bare feet padded slowly against the wooden floor, making their way over to his bedside. Ron tore the covers over his head and cowered into his pillow, mentally willing whatever or whoever was in his room to go away.

He tried to control his breathing, which had become so loud within his head it was keeping him from hearing anything going on in his bedroom. There didn't seem to be any more movement and he tried to convince himself that it had been Ghoul he had heard earlier.

Gathering up all the courage he could, Ron slowly slid his blanket away just enough to see out of. After looking around and deciding there was nothing to be afraid of, Ron sat up and let the blankets fall away from his shoulders.

Standing next to his bed was a small girl, just a few years older than himself. Her cheeks and her eyes were sunken in and her chin-length, black hair hung limply around her face. Her eyes were glazed and seemed to glow slightly within the dark room.

She stood motionlessly for a moment before grabbing Ron's arms and pulling him close.

"He's coming!" she cried. "He's going to kill us! We have to get out!"

Before he could scream, the little girl pushed him back against his mattress. She froze suddenly, looking over her shoulder. She gripped Ron's t-shirt tightly and looked deep into his eyes.

"Please, help us," she whimpered before pushing him away and disappearing through his bedroom door.

Ron breathed heavily and gripped his blankets tightly, in shock from his encounter with the little girl. He couldn't figure out whether he'd actually seen her, or if he'd imagined the whole thing. He brushed himself off, trying to get rid of the icy feeling the little girl had left in his chest. He sat up unsteadily and rushed out of his room toward his parents' bedroom.

He stood at the door and lightly tapped his little knuckles against the door frame. He could just make out both of his parents sleeping in their bed. His father was on his back with his arm tucked under the back of his head, snoring slightly every time he inhaled. His mother was curled against his father, using his chest as a pillow.

"Mum…? Dad…?" Ron called softly. He slowly made his way into their bedroom and bit at his thumbnail nervously. He looked back at the door to make sure the ghostly girl hadn't followed him from his bedroom, subconsciously moving further into his parents' bedroom in the process.

Molly sat up suddenly, her motherly instincts sensing something wasn't right. She looked questioningly over at Ron before patting the edge of the bed for him to sit down.

"Ron? What's the matter, sweetheart?" Molly asked, wrapping her arms around Ron as he sat next to her.

"Can I sleep with you," Ron inquired quietly, suddenly feeling very ashamed that he was too scared to sleep in his own room.

"Of course, darling," Molly replied thoughtfully. She pulled back the blanket and let Ron crawl into the bed next to her. As she wrapped her arm over Ron, she could feel his little body trembling uncontrollably. She frowned and brushed Ron's hair out of his face.

"Ron, what's wrong?" she asked. "Sweetheart, you're shaking."

She sat up and gathered Ron tightly into her arms. He wrapped his arms around her neck and tucked his face under her chin, refusing to say a word about what had happened back in his bedroom.

-o-o-

A/N: Thanks for reading this far! I hope you've enjoyed the story up to this point. On to the next chapter and feel free to leave a review!


	4. Chapter 3

_The beast slowly made its way toward Alice and Sophie. It tightened its fingers into a fist, causing the bedroom door to slam shut, leaving neither of the girls with any route to escape. _

_It grabbed Alice by the arms and lifted her, screaming, off of the ground. She kicked and squirmed and screamed, trying to get out of the beast's stronghold. It stared into her eyes and chuckled before tossing her aside, where she landed next to her unconscious brother._

_The beast grabbed Sophie by the arm and ripped her from her seated position on the floor. He pushed her face first into the stone wall, stunning her enough to stop her from screaming, then lifted her and tossed her in the same direction he had thrown Alice. Both girls could feel their bodies begin to bruise and swell, but they forced themselves to keep quiet so as not anger the beast further._

_The beast stepped back toward the body of their father and flipped him onto his back. It clawed at their father's chest, breaking through his ribcage and tore out his heart._

_Holding the dripping organ in his hand, the beast began to mutter words that neither of the girls could understand. The heart began to glow and pulse in the beast's hands. It tore the heart in two and let it drop to the floor. A small bead of white light continued to float before the beast where he had been holding the heart._

_The beast gently clasped its hands around the bead and seemed to emit a small amount of light as well as the light from the father's heart sank into the beast's body._

_A loud crackling sound, which seemed to be coming from the beast, filled the room. The beast began to grow even taller and stronger before the girls as they cowered on the floor._

_Pressing its large hand against the stone wall of the kitchen, a wave of green light lit up the stones, sealing off all of the entrances to the house. It slowly made its way toward the kitchen door, grabbing the father's ankle and dragging his body into the darkness outside, and slamming the door behind him._

_Alice, still somewhat in shock from the terrifying encounter, raced to the bedroom and attempted to open the window. The window crackled with energy and sent her flying backward onto David's bed. She walked slowly back to the sitting room and looked at Sophie with an expression of despair._

"_I think he's saving the rest of us for later," she squeaked, racing over to her sister and trying to rouse their brother._

_Sophie tenderly touched the side of her face where she had hit the wall and tried not to look at the bloody mess the beast had left on the floor. Unable to hold back, she turned and embraced her sister and let the wave of emotion overtake her._

-o-o-

"George, finish everything on your plate, please. I'll not have my children going hungry!" Molly scolded as she glanced over at the table. She went back to putting the dirty dishes in the sink and clearing off the counter tops as Fred and George exchanged confused glances.

"That's Ron's plate, not mine," George stated. "I've nearly eaten all of mine."

Molly stopped what she was doing and looked back at the untouched plate of food with disbelief. Ron was absently poking at his potatoes with his fork while resting his chin in his free hand.

"Ronnie, honey," Molly said. "What's wrong?" She couldn't remember the last time Ron hadn't eaten a meal. Ron had always had a healthy appetite. She wasn't sure where he put it all; the poor boy was far too skinny for her liking. He was steadily growing upward though and would be as tall as Fred and George in no time.

"It's poisoned," Ron replied, setting his fork down. Molly frowned and placed her hands on her hips.

"It has not been poisoned," Molly growled. "Who told you that? Fred? George?"

Both of the twins shook their heads rapidly, looking up at their mother with shocked expressions. The twins loved causing trouble around the house, but they knew there were limits. No one dared interfere with meal times at the Weasley house.

"It wasn't us," Fred interjected.

"Honest, mum," George added, his eyes wide.

Molly looked back at Ron, who was staring blankly at the table. He pushed his plate a few inches away from himself.

"We're going to die without food," Ron whimpered.

"Ron? What are you talking about?" Molly asked. She removed her hands from her hips and crossed them in front of her.

Ron frowned and glanced around at his siblings before looking up at Molly.

"Huh?" he asked, looking confused.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with that food, young man," Molly stated. "I expect you to finish everything on your plate."

Ron nodded obediently as he pulled his plate closer to him and picked up his fork. Molly turned toward the kitchen sink and set about getting dishes washed up. Ron swallowed a few forkfuls of food without a word, not noticing the confused stares he was receiving from his siblings.

The sound of Ron's fork dropping back against his plate made Molly turn around once again. Ron's eyes were glazed and he was staring straight ahead, just as he had been only moments ago.

"I don't feel good," Ron mumbled.

Molly walked around the kitchen table, placing her hand on Ron's forehead and clicking her tongue as she shook her head. Ron blinked and looked up at his mum, surprised to see her standing next to him.

"You are a bit warm," she said softly. She walked back over to the kitchen cupboard and rummaged through one of the cabinets for a potion to lower Ron's fever. "Ah! Here we are!"

Ron groaned and buried his head in his hands. Both Fred and George chuckled quietly and smiled at one another. Percy shook his head and rolled his eyes at the twins.

"Boys, don't be rude," Molly scolded as she grabbed a teaspoon from the drawer. She walked back around the table and poured the potion into the spoon before handing it to Ron.

Ron sighed and took the spoon from his mother. He stared at the purple liquid and groaned while mentally preparing himself to put it in his mouth.

"Come on now," Molly encouraged. "It's not that bad, I promise."

Ron quickly put the spoon in his mouth and swallowed the potion down with a grimace before handing the spoon back to his mother.

"That's a good boy," Molly smiled. She gently pat Ron's shoulder and moved to put the potion bottle back in the cabinet. She nearly dropped the bottle as Ron retched and pushed himself away from the table.

"Ugh!" Fred grimaced, pushing his chair away from Ron. Bill quickly got out of his own chair and raced over to Ron. He lifted Ron into his arms and carried him over to the kitchen sink, pulling the plug to drain the water as Ron gagged once more.

Charlie pushed a chair over to the sink so Bill could set their brother down. Ron gripped the edge of the sink and panted as the potion Molly had given him tried to force its way back out of his body.

"Thank you, boys," Molly sighed. She gently ran her hand along Ron's back as he spit up the potion. "All better, Ronnie?" Ron nodded and wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

Everyone was startled as George suddenly retched and puked on the floor.

"Oh, George! Not you too." Molly gasped sympathetically, racing over to George to rub his back and waving her wand to clean up the mess.

"Sorry, mum," George whispered. "I feel fine, honest. Hearing Ron puke made me sick is all."

"Disgraceful," Fred muttered, shaking his head in disgust at his twin brother. George glared at his twin as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

"Serves you right, you little fucker," Ron growled maliciously, his blue eyes faintly tinted red.

Molly stood up straight and turned toward Ron threateningly.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley!" she yelled angrily. "Where on Earth did you learn such a thing? I have half a mind to wash that filthy mouth out with soap!" She raised her wand threateningly toward Ron.

"Mum, wait!" Bill exclaimed, stepping in front of Ron protectively. "Look at him. Something's wrong with Ron." He stepped aside so Molly could get a good look at Ron, who was leaning against Charlie and staring off into space.

Molly dropped her wand arm to her side and walked over to her little boy. She cupped Ron's chin in her hand and looked into his eyes, they were back to their normal blue colour, but had a glazed look to them.

"Ron?" Molly asked softly. She pressed the back of her hand against his forehead and cheeks. "Ronnie, honey? Can you hear me, poppet?"

Ron blinked suddenly, his eyes clearing almost immediately. He jumped back, startled to find so many people crowding around him. Charlie quickly grabbed Ron before he could topple off of the chair he was still standing on.

"Let go of me!" Ron cried, squirming away from Charlie, his body trembling within Charlie's grasp.

"It's all right, sweet heart," said Molly, gently taking Ron by the hand. She smiled as he tried to calm himself down, taking deep breaths and looking around the room, trying to piece together the last few minutes missing from his memory.

"Ron? Are you feeling all right?" Percy asked. Ron nodded his response and climbed off of the chair. He looked over at his mum with a puzzled expression before making his way back to his seat at the kitchen table.

"Is it ok if I finish this?" Ron asked softly, pointing to his nearly-untouched plate.

"Of course, dear," Molly replied, not knowing how else to respond to her son's odd behaviour. She looked back at Bill who shrugged and watched Ron devour his food.

-o-o-


	5. Chapter 4

_Sophie was tucked into a corner of the sitting room, sobbing softly into her knees while Alice moved swiftly through the house, desperately searching for a way out._

"_If papa was here he could figure this out," Alice whimpered. "There has to be a counter-curse to break through this."_

_She stopped suddenly as David began to stir. Even Sophie stopped crying and crawled over to her brother's side to make sure he was all right._

_David grimaced, clutching the back of his head as he sat up. Sophie wrapped her arms tightly around David's torso and wept into his shoulder. _

"_Sophie?" David croaked. "What's going on?"_

"_That thing killed papa," Sophie sobbed. "We're locked in with no way out."_

_David seemed to regain his bearings and struggled to his feet. _

"_It's all my fault," David mumbled with disbelief as he lifted Sophie into his arms and held her tightly. "The markings on the tree… I should have realized…"_

"_David?" Alice asked timidly._

"_We released the beast," David continued. "The markings on the wood we chopped. They must have been a containment spell using old magic. I've doomed us all." He was staring into space with a devastated expression etched on his face. _

"_David, we need to find a way out before it comes back for us," Alice explained, gripping her brother's hand and pulling him toward the front door. "We can't stay here."_

_David looked down at his mother's body, which was lying in a crumpled heap on the floor. He cringed and looked up over at Alice._

"_Is she…?" he choked._

"_She's unconscious," Alice replied sadly. "I couldn't get her to wake. Please, David. We have to get out of here now."_

_David nodded and set Sophie back on the floor, quickly observing the bruise on her cheek, before retrieving his wand from his pocket. He tried every spell he could think of to get the door to open, but nothing worked. _

"_What was that thing, David?" Sophie whimpered, gently placing her hand on her mum's shoulder and looking up at her brother._

"_It's an ancient creature, known for consuming powers from other magical creatures," David replied. "I thought its kind had been driven to extinction long ago, but someone must have trapped this one within the tree papa and I had chopped down. Maybe they had been unable to destroy it."_

"_How do we destroy it?" Alice asked, peeking into the darkness outside through the kitchen window._

"_I don't know," David replied._

-o-o-

Molly walked slowly into the sitting room and sank into her favourite chair. All of the children were outside playing and she had finished with all of the washing up. It was a rare occasion when Molly Weasley was able to sit down and put her feet up and she was determined to enjoy it while she could.

She leaned back in her chair and let her eyes slide closed for a moment of rest. It was only a matter of time before the twins started would start stirring up trouble. She released a tired sigh as the back door opened and closed and a pair of little footsteps made their way across the freshly swept kitchen floor.

When Molly sat up, she found Ron standing in the doorway with an evil grin on his face. He started to giggle deviously and stared at his mum.

"Ron? What's so funny?" Molly asked. Her eyebrows were knit into a frown as she observed Ron's odd behaviour. There was something strange about Ron; something about his eyes.

The smile vanished from Ron's face and he stared off into space for a moment before sliding down the wall and sitting on the floor. Molly quickly got to her feet and walked over to her son.

"Ronnie?" she asked softly, placing her hand gently on Ron's knee. He blinked and looked up at his mum before smiling.

"Hey, mum!" he said excitedly. "Bill said that Ginny and I can play Gobstones with the set he bought in Hogsmeade. Can I go get them from his bedroom?"

Molly stood up, confused by her son's behaviour and nodded. Ron smiled, scrambled to his feet, and ran up the staircase toward Bill's room. Once she'd composed herself, Molly moved to the foot of the stairs and waited until Ron bounded back down to the sitting room.

"Darling, come here," Molly instructed. Ron jumped off the bottom step with Bill's Gobstones in hand and looked up at his mum.

"Is something wrong?" Ron asked, the smile fading from his face. Molly smiled and put her hands on both of Ron's shoulders.

"You tell me," Molly replied. "Are you feeling all right, sweetheart?" Ron bit his bottom lip and considered her question for a moment before nodding.

"Yes," he replied. "I'm ok, mum. Why?"

Molly felt Ron's cheeks and forehead with the back of her hand.

"Just checking," Molly replied. "Go along and play with Ginny."

Ron smiled and raced back outside to find Ginny. Molly followed slowly behind him and watched out the kitchen window as Ron and Ginny began setting up their game.

-o-o-

_It had been a long night for the three children. Their mother still had not woken and they had not found any escape from the house. David had carried his mother into the bedroom and set her on her bed to keep her comfortable while Alice and Sophie attempted to break the windows._

"_It's no use, David," Alice sighed sadly. "There's a spell on the windows to keep them from breaking. We've tried everything."_

"_There's got to be a way," David stated, more to himself than to his sisters. "Look through papa's Spell books, Alice. See if there's anything in there that might help." She nodded and raced to the bedroom to retrieve her father's books._

_The sun was beginning to rise over the trees and morning approached. The darkened kitchen began to light up as the sun streamed in through the windows._

"_We'll be safe for a few hours now, Sophie," said David encouragingly. "That beast only comes out at night." Sophie nodded and chewed nervously at her thumb nail. _

"_Do you think it will come back tonight?" Sophie asked, almost inaudibly. _

"_I can't say for sure, little one," David replied sadly. "We can only hope that it's moved on and forgotten about us."_

_Sophie's stomach grumbled loudly and she looked up at David apologetically. _

"_Let's get you something to eat, shall we?" David laughed. "Come on, Alice. I'll need your help with breakfast."_

_Alice and David quickly whipped up some oatmeal and toast and sat down with Sophie to eat. They ate in silence, their ears pealed as they listened for any sign of the beast's return. Sophie set her spoon on the table and sat back in her chair, her face turning slightly gray as her stomach turned._

"_Still not feeling well, Sophie?" David asked sympathetically. Sophie shook her head as Alice pushed her own plate away. She sat silently for a moment, grimacing as her own stomach rolled._

"_It's poisoned," Alice gasped. She looked over at David with disbelief. "That beast has poisoned our food."_

"_It's not," David scolded. "It's all in your head; stop being silly."  
><em>

"_We're going to die without food," Alice whimpered._

_David rolled his eyes and shook his head angrily._

"_Don't you start," David demanded. "There is nothing wrong with the food. Stop getting yourself worked up. You're frightening Sophie."_

"_I don't feel good," Sophie groaned._

"_Let's get you your potion, little one," said David. "It will make you feel better." Sophie nodded and followed her brother over to the pantry where their mum kept the potions. As David poured Sophie's potion onto a spoon, Sophie bent forward and puked on the floor._

"_Oh, Sophie!" Alice exclaimed. "Are you all right?"_

"_I want mum!" Sophie sobbed. David quickly waved his wand, cleaning up the mess on the floor, and gave Sophie her potion. Alice wiped Sophie's face and kissed her cheek before pulling Sophie toward the bedroom._

"_Come lay down with mum," Alice instructed. "You can keep her company."_

"_OK," Sophie whimpered._

-o-o-


	6. Chapter 5

Charlie and Tonks dropped their brooms next to the back door and raced into the kitchen. Charlie grabbed two glasses from the cupboard and filled them both with ice and water.

"Are you going to try out for the Quidditch team this year?" Charlie asked.

"Not sure yet," replied Tonks as she took the glass of water Charlie was passing to her. "Some of us aren't naturals on a broomstick like you." She raised one eyebrow and flashed him a sarcastic grin.

"Jealous?" Charlie snorted.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Weasley," Tonks laughed. "I don't have to be home for another hour or so. What do you fancy doing?"

"We could spoil our suppers while listening to the wireless," Charlie suggested. "Or play a game of Exploding Snaps or something." He shrugged and led Tonks into the sitting room. Charlie leaped onto one of the old sofas and smiled up at Tonks.

Tonks stood silently at the sitting room door and seemed to be focused on something behind Charlie. She had an expression of concern etched across her face and as she began making her way around the sofa, Charlie finally noticed what she had been looking at.

Ron was cowering in one corner of the room. His entire body was shaking and he was curled into a tight, little ball. Charlie could hear Ron's quiet whimpering between quick, ragged breaths.

"Ronnie?" Tonks asked, moving closer to Ron. She reached out to place her hand on Ron's shoulder, but Charlie quickly jumped over the sofa and grabbed her hand to stop her. She looked over at Charlie questioningly and pulled her hand away.

"Hey, little man," Charlie spoke softly. "What happened?"

Ron didn't look up. He didn't acknowledge the presence of either teen in any way. He continued to breathe quickly, as though he'd just finished running around the back garden.

"Did Fred and George do something to you?" Charlie asked. "I'll go bully them for you if they did." He gently ran his hand along Ron's back, trying to coax him to explain what had happened.

"No!" Ron's cry sounded desperate and pleading. His body stiffened against Charlie's touch and he cowered further into the corner. Tonks cupped her hands over her mouth and looked back at Charlie.

"Do you think he's hurt?" she asked. She looked back at Ron and tried to determine whether or not he was in pain. He looked fine physically from what she could see.

"I think he's having a... um… he's not been well," Charlie replied. "Can you stay with him for a moment while I find my mum?" He pushed himself up off of the floor where he had been crouching next to Tonks and rushed toward the staircase before she could reply. She watched as Charlie disappeared around a corner before looking back at Ron sympathetically.

"Come on, little man," Tonks whispered. "Can you tell me what happened, darling?"

Two pairs of footsteps thudded down the staircase toward the sitting room. Molly ran ahead of Charlie and knelt next to Tonks.

"What happened, Ron?" Molly asked. "Are you hurt?"

She pulled Ron out of the corner, ignoring his tortured screams, and forced his arms around her neck.

"No, please!" Ron cried with anguish. His sobs were filled with absolute despair and wracked his entire body. Molly tried to remain as calm as possible as she held onto her baby boy. He didn't push away, but he was stiff in her arms, not wanting to hold on to her.

"You tell mommy to let go if this is hurting you," she instructed softly as she cuddled Ron against her. She leaned back and gently pulled one of Ron's eyes open with her thumb. She sighed and shook her head sadly before pulling him close. She held the back of Ron's head and softly shushed him as she walked around the sitting room.

"No! Stop, please!" Ron screamed. "Please don't!"

"Stop what, poppet?" Molly asked softly. "Who do you want to stop?"

Finally, Ron buried his face into the crook of his mother's neck and wrapped his around tightly around her as he continued to weep. Charlie swallowed the lump forming in the back of his throat. He had seen Ron cry before, but never like this.

"Is he all right, Mrs. Weasley?" Tonks asked timidly from the sofa where she and Charlie had gone to sit while Molly dealt with Ron.

"Call me Molly, sweetheart," Molly said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "He'll be fine in a moment."

Charlie tried to explain to Tonks what had been happening with his little brother. She listened intently, still watching Molly cuddle Ron. He seemed to have stopped crying and his body was beginning to relax. Molly gently set Ron on the sofa as his body went limp in her arms.

As Molly stepped aside, Tonks was able to catch a glimpse of Ron's face. Apart from being bloodshot and teary, Ron's eyes were glazed and his pupils were dilated. His face was void of expression and he was staring vacantly up at the ceiling.

"Let's not stand over him," Molly instructed as she kissed Ron's cheek. "Why don't we go into the kitchen and I'll make us all some tea."

Charlie smiled sadly at Tonks as he stood up and followed his mum to the kitchen. Tonks took one last look at Ron before getting up and following the two of them.

Tonks and Charlie sat silently at the table as Molly poured tea for the three of them. Tonks kept glancing over at the sitting room door, listening for any sign of movement from Ron.

"How long does it usually last?" Tonks asked finally, breaking the silence.

"It's different each time," Molly replied, sounding suddenly quite tired. "He usually comes around within a few minutes once the episode has ended."

She sat in a chair across from Tonks and pinched the bridge of her nose before sighing deeply. Tonks had never seen Molly look so exhausted before, which was surprising considering the number of children running around her house on a daily basis. The twins alone would wear out most mothers.

Tonks started suddenly as a pair of bare feet padded into the kitchen. Ron rubbed one eye with the palm of his hand and looked up at his mum.

"Mum, I've got a headache," Ron announced softly.

"Oh, dear," Molly replied, getting up from her seat and seeming to get a second wind. "Let's get you something for that, shall we?"

"Hey, Tonks!" Ron exclaimed suddenly. His face broke into a grin and he ran to sit at the table with Tonks and Charlie. "When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago," Tonks lied. "How've you been, little man?"

"OK," Ron replied, glancing back at his mum, his smile fading slightly as he waited for someone to say something about his recent episodes. Molly smiled down at him as she handed him a potion to alleviate his headache just as Bill walked into the kitchen from outside.

"Oh, there you are, Bill," Molly sighed. "Could I trouble you to watch the little ones for me this afternoon, please? Flourish and Blotts is having a sale today and I'd like to see if I can get all your books for school."

"Sure, mum," Bill replied, ruffling Ron's hair and grinning at his little brother as he walked by. "Charlie, Tonks, and I can watch them together. I'll watch Ginny, Percy, and Ron, Charlie and Tonks can watch the twins."

-o-o-

A/N: Just a short chapter this time, but there are more! Please leave a review or a comment if you're enjoying the story so far. I'd love to hear your thoughts.


	7. Chapter 6

_Helen began to stir as the sun descended behind the trees outside. She groaned and sat up painfully. Sophie was laying next to her, curled into a tight little ball, her face flushed with fever and still swollen and bruised from the night before. Helen gently kissed Sophie's forehead, examining the bruise more closely, before slipping quietly out of bed._

_Wincing as she stood up, the previous night's events came flooding back to her memory. Ignoring the pain in her aching muscles, she raced into the kitchen to find Alice scouring through her father's old Spell books and David trying to rip the front door from its hinges._

"_Mom?" Alice asked suddenly, looking up from her books. She released a strangled sob and raced into her mother's embrace. "I thought you were going to die!" She dissolved into incontrollable sobs as her mother gripped her tightly. Without a word, David walked toward his mother and embraced her tightly._

"_Where has it gone?" Helen asked fearfully. "Where's your father?"_

"_It killed papa," Alice wept. "It took him outside and locked us in. We can't get out. We've tried everything."_

"_I'm so sorry, mum," David whimpered. "The tree papa and I brought home for the fire… we let it out."_

_Helen tried to let everything sink in as her children struggled to explain all that had happened the night before. _

"_It's going to be all right, my children," she said calmly. "Alice, I'll help you look through the books for some way to destroy that beast and David will keep looking for a way out." _

_The two children nodded and reluctantly went back to what they were doing. Helen sat next to Alice at the kitchen table and opened another Spell book._

_David gripped at the doorknob and pulled back with every ounce of strength he had left. The door burst open suddenly, sending David flying backward into the kitchen table, which collapsed and fell apart on the floor. Both Helen and Alice leapt to their feet to help David as the beast entered their house once more._

_Alice screamed and pulled both her mother and her brother back toward the sitting room, hoping to keep them from the beast._

_With a vicious smile the beast sent Alice and David flying into the far wall of the sitting room. Helen took a step back toward her children just as the beast clenched its hand into a fist purposefully. Helen's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as her shirt and skirt became drenched in blood. With one last, terrified look at her children, Helen dropped to the floor, blood pooling around her body. _

_David's face went white as he looked into his mother's lifeless eyes. Blood continued to pour from the cuts all over her legs, arms, and from beneath her clothing._

"_No," he gasped breathlessly. "Mum?"_

_Both he and Alice sat, paralyzed, as the beast rip their mother apart, just as it had done their father, and consumed the small bead of light containing Helen's magic._

-o-o-

Ginny and Ron were lying on their bellies next to the fireplace, looking through Ron's Famous Witches and Wizards cards.

"Who is this one?" Ginny asked, holding up one of the cards for Ron to see.

"Try to read it, Gin," Ron encouraged with a cheeky smile. Ginny rolled her eyes and looked at the back of the card before trying to sound out the name.

"P-A-R-A-C," Ginny began, sounding out each letter with her eyebrows knit tightly in concentration. Ron chuckled softly, causing her to stop and pout.

"That's Paracelsus," Ron explained. "Charlie told me there's a statue of his head at Hogwarts." He took the card back and examined the picture before giving it back to Ginny. "I can't remember why he's famous though."

"We could go ask Charlie," Ginny suggested excitedly. She scrambled to her feet with Ron's card in hand and ran to kitchen where Charlie, Tonks, and Bill were playing card games. Ron followed slowly behind; reaching the kitchen once Ginny had already given Charlie the card to look at.

"He helped discover medicines, Gin," Charlie explained. "You know that really gross, yellow potion mum gives you when your throat is sore. He made that."

Ginny scrunched up her nose and looked at the picture on the card again.

"I don't think I like this one," Ginny said, handing the card back to Ron. She gasped and took a step back, dropping the card on the floor as she looked up at Ron. Ron's right cheek was black and blue and there were red welts beginning to show along his neck.

"Bloody hell, Ron!" Bill exclaimed. "What have you two been doing? Mum's going to be right pissed when she sees you." He stood up and walked around the table to examine Ron's face.

"We were just looking at my card collection," Ron replied innocently. "He looked up at Bill and winced as his brother gripped his shoulder.

"What happened to your face?" Charlie gasped. "And your neck?"

Bill pulled back the neck of Ron's t-shirt to reveal a dark, painful looking bruise on Ron's right shoulder; a few smaller bruises trailed down Ron's arm.

"And the rest of you?" Bill exclaimed as he lifted Ron's arm to get a closer look at it. "Shirt off, Ron. Let's get a look at you."

Ron grabbed the bottom of his shirt before Bill could pull it up. His cheeks and ears flushed with pink as he looked over at Tonks.

"Bill, not while Tonks is looking!" Ron hissed with embarrassment. He dropped his head, unable to look up at Tonks.

"She's seen you in your swimsuit, Ron," Bill chuckled. "It's really no different. Let's go into the sitting room then." Ron nodded and quickly turned and led Bill into the sitting room.

Ginny looked over at Charlie with surprise.

"He didn't look like that before," Ginny explained.

"It's ok, Ginny," said Tonks reassuringly as she took Ginny's hand and pulled her over to a seat at the table. "We'll get him fixed up once your mum comes back." Tonks looked over at Charlie worriedly and shrugged her shoulders, hoping he could explain what had happened.

Charlie looked stunned and shrugged back at her. He excused himself from the table and walked into the sitting room to check on Bill and Ron. He stopped suddenly as he took in Ron's appearance. There were cuts, scrapes, and bruises all down Ron's right side.

"Are you sure you didn't fall?" Bill asked, turning Ron around so that he could look at his back. "The twins didn't push you into something?"

"I swear, Bill," Ron whimpered. "I was sitting right there with Ginny. We weren't doing anything."

"It's ok. I'm not mad," Bill explained as he turned Ron back around. "Just worried." He squeezed Ron's trembling hand reassuringly and smiled at his little brother. He helped Ron put his shirt back on examined the black eye that was beginning to develop and the split lip that had just suddenly appeared.

"Should we try to get dad?" Charlie asked. "I could floo to Diagon Alley and try to find mum."

"Mum shouldn't be much longer," Bill replied. "If it keeps getting worse I'll call for a healer."

The three of them walked back into the kitchen and sat at the table. Bill got up and rummaged through one of the cupboards before walking back to the table with a handful of homemade biscuits.

"Let's ruin our appetites before tea, shall we?" he announced with a cheeky smile. He passed the biscuits around and sat next to Ron.

Ron started giggling as he wrapped his fingers around the biscuit. Everyone frowned and looked at Ron as the expression on his face became quite sinister. His eyes almost seemed to glow as they changed from blue to red. He looked over at Ginny and smiled evilly.

"You'll be next," he hissed, breaking his biscuit in two and chuckling deviously.

Ginny pushed back from the table, but was halted by Tonks, who quickly grabbed her hand. Tonks stood up and pulled Ginny close, watching as Ron's eyes glazed over.

"Shit, Ron!" Bill gasped. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

He turned toward Ron and gripped Ron's chin, forcing Ron to look at him. The bruises on Ron's face had begun to fade and his lip looked completely healed.

There was a flash of green light as Molly appeared in the fireplace. She dusted herself off and walked into the kitchen to find four of her children and Tonks around the table.

"What's going on?" Molly asked as she looked over at Bill, who was still gripping Ron's chin.

"Something's wrong, mum," Bill replied as Molly rushed to his side. She looked at Ron and turned Ron's face to examine the bruises.

"What happened to his face?" Molly gasped.

"They're going away now," Bill replied. "The entire right side of his body was bruised and scraped up. They just came up suddenly and now they're disappearing."

Molly lifted Ron's shirt to expose the bruises along his torso. They had gone from purple to a light yellow, as though they had been healing for a few days.

"He just did that laughing thing and scared Ginny too," Charlie explained.

"I'm taking him to St. Mungo's," Molly announced as Ron began to come around. "Can you keep an eye on the little ones until I get back?"

"Of course," Bill replied.

"Mum!" Ron exclaimed, jumping out of his chair. Molly gently pulled Ron toward her and cuddled him tightly. He was shaking and breathing quickly while struggling to get out of his mother's grasp.

"It's all right, darling," Molly whispered, kneeling before Ron to look him in the eye. "We're going to make you better."

-o-o-


	8. Chapter 7

"_We need a plan," David announced, breaking the silence that had fallen over the house following the beast's departure._

_Alice was on her knees on the stone floor; too stunned to move. She stared off into space and let her thoughts consume her as they raced through her mind._

"_Alice! We can't give up now!" David insisted, walking over to his sister and kneeling in front of her, placing both hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him tearfully. "We still have a chance. I know we can get out of this somehow."_

"_How?" Alice squeaked. "There's no way to get out of the house. Mum and papa are… dead." She put her hand over her mouth and sobbed softly._

"_We have to work together," David continued. "We'll think of something. We can hide in the attic. Maybe it will think we got out and move on."_

_Alice looked up at the small door in the ceiling and shook her head._

"_It will know we're up there," she sighed. "We'll be trapped if we go into the attic."_

"_Maybe we can climb out through the fireplace," David exclaimed. He stood up and made his way over to the fireplace. Alice watched as he climbed inside and began shimmying his way up the floo._

_Alice got to her feet and slowly made her way over to the fireplace, watching as soot fell onto the logs like black snow._

_David let out a grunt and fell back down with a thump, sending a cloud of soot wafting out of the fireplace._

_Alice couldn't help but smile as she looked down at her brother, covered from head to toe in soot, and sitting in the fireplace._

"_It's blocked," David announced, looking up at Alice sheepishly. "Maybe that wasn't such a good idea."_

"_Perhaps not," Alice giggled. She held out her hand and helped David out of the fireplace. "Maybe you should go wash up a little. I think mum had found a page referencing that thing. I'll see if I can find it again. Maybe it will tell us how to get rid of it."_

_David nodded and excused himself, stopping at the bedroom door to check on Sophie who was still sleeping soundly, before making his way to the bathroom to wash up. _

_Alice pulled the book her mother had been reading from the rubble that was once their kitchen table and sat on one of the sofas. She flipped through the book, stopping when she'd reached the page with an illustration of the beast she'd become far too familiar with over the last two nights._

"_We're in over our heads," she sighed as she read through the description of the beast._

-o-o-

Arthur Weasley worked for the Ministry of Magic five days a week. During weekends, he spent most of his time in his shed experimenting with muggle artifacts that he had brought home from work or messing about in the garden with his children.

Molly had informed him of Ron's recent behaviour, but he hadn't witnessed any episodes for himself. He'd spent the entire afternoon playing outside with Ron, but Ron had been episode free all day.

For the last half hour, Arthur had taken Ron and Ginny into the shed to look at all of his muggle artifacts. The two of them had been examining everything in sight with awed expressions and asking thousands of questions about each object. Arthur followed closely and tried his best to answer each of their questions to the best of his knowledge.

"What's this one, dad?" Ginny asked, holding up a muggle fire extinguisher.

"I believe muggles use those to put out fires," Arthur replied. "I'm not sure what they've put in it, but it's not water." Ginny examined the fire extinguisher, wrapping her pudgy fingers around the pin and pulling it out curiously. She scrunched up her nose and looked at the pin before squeezing the handle of the fire extinguisher. Sodium bicarbonate exploded from the nozzle and covered Ron from head to toe before Ginny released the handle. She stared in shock at her brother, who was now coated in a white film, and dropped the fire extinguisher on the floor. She looked back at their father, half expecting to be disciplined for what she'd done, but Arthur was struggling not to laugh. Ron looked up at his father, his eyes the only part of him that was not white and grinned.

"It's all right, Gin," Arthur chuckled. He waved his wand, removing all of the sodium bicarbonate from Ron and returned the fire extinguisher onto the shelf Ginny had gotten it from. "No harm done. Are you all right, Ron?"

"Yeah," Ron laughed. "That was really weird."

"Why don't we take a break and get ourselves some biscuits and lemonade, shall we?" Arthur asked. "We'll come back after to look at some more muggle things."

The two children nodded and raced out of the shed and toward the house. Arthur attempted to keep up to them, but gave up after a few feet, deciding to walk the rest of the way.

"Mum, you should see dad's fire extinguisher!" Ginny exclaimed. "It was so cool!"

Molly smiled and looked over at Arthur as he made his way into the kitchen.

"It sounds like the three of you are having a good afternoon," Molly stated. Arthur nodded and walked over to the cupboard where Molly kept the biscuits.

"They've definitely kept me busy," he grunted as he sat down and placed the biscuits in the middle of the table before helping himself to a few.

Molly ushered Ginny and Ron over to the sink to wash up before pouring them each a glass of lemonade and sitting next to Arthur.

"Everything's been all right?" Molly asked softly, hoping Ron wasn't listening.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Arthur replied, tipping the glass of lemonade over his lips.

Ron and Ginny leaned over the table and reached for a biscuit each. Ginny sat next to her mother and watched as Ron took his biscuit over to the kitchen window to look outside.

"When are Bill and Charlie going to be back?" Ron asked. He looked back at his parents and took a bite of his biscuit, dropping a few crumbs on the floor in the process.

"Some time before tea," Molly replied. "Come eat your biscuit at the table please."

Ron nodded and took a step toward the table before freezing on the spot and staring off into space. He dropped the biscuit on the floor as his body was thrust against the kitchen wall. He was standing on his toes and clawing at his throat, unable to breathe as an invisible force squeezed around his neck. He kicked out his legs and choked as he tried to catch his breath.

Ron's watery eyes stared blankly ahead, not seeing his horror stricken parents as they raced to his side. Ron's lips began to turn blue as his lungs were starved of oxygen. His throat was being crushed by invisible fingers that his own fingers were unable to pull away. His eyes slowly began to slide upward as his body shut down.

"No!" Arthur shouted, pulling Ron away from the wall and lifting him into his arms as he had when he was very small. Ron drew in a ragged breath and coughed as the tension around his neck disappeared. His stare remained glassy and vacant as he breathed heavily, his lungs trying to recover.

Arthur ran a shaky hand over the side of Ron's face and snapped his fingers in an attempt to get Ron's attention. He looked over at the wall Ron had been strangled against before looking back at his little boy.

Overcoming her own shock, Molly placed her hand on Arthur's shoulder and smiled supportively.

"He'll be all right, Arthur," she said softly. "They never last very long."

Arthur looked up at her, the shocked expression still spread across his face.

"They're scarier than I had imagined," Arthur gasped, still shaking slightly. Molly nodded and sighed as she entwined her finger with Ron's and kissed his knuckles.

"Let's get him on the sofa," Molly instructed. "He sometimes gets frightened with people standing over him when he comes around."

Arthur grunted as he lifted Ron and carried him to the sitting room, placing him gently on the sofa and following Molly back to the kitchen.

"Are you all right?" Molly asked. Arthur pulled his hand over his face and inhaled deeply.

"Would that have stopped if I hadn't grabbed him?" Arthur asked; his voice cracking as he fell into his chair. "Or did we almost lose our son?"

"They stop on their own," Molly replied, fidgeting with her cup of tea. "I don't think his episodes are dangerous; just terrifying to watch. He never remembers them afterward."

"What do we do?" Arthur sighed, turning to look at the sitting room door as he heard Ron beginning to rouse.

-o-o-


	9. Chapter 8

"I don't know what to do," Molly whimpered. "He's fine one minute and then he zones out and becomes a completely different person."

Molly was standing at the stove, checking on the soup she was preparing for her family for lunch. Bernice Diggory and Lydia Lovegood were sitting at the kitchen table, quietly sipping their tea as Molly explained the predicament with Ron. The three ladies made a point of getting together for tea once a week while their children played together in the yard.

"There are times when I look at Ron and my baby boy is not in there." She bit at her bottom lip as her voice cracked and tears began welling in her eyes. She sat back in her chair and folded her hands on the table. "There are times when he won't stop screaming or crying and sometimes he just stares at me with the most sinister looking smile."

"Molly," Bernice gasped sympathetically. She placed her hand on Molly's shoulder and looked over at Ron who was in the yard playing with Luna, Cedric, and Ginny. The bruises and cuts from the day before had completely disappeared. "The healers will figure this out. He's going to be fine. Just you wait."

"What have the healers said about his episodes?" Lydia asked. "Have they ruled them out as fits?"

"They've said it's not epilepsy or Tourette syndrome," Molly replied, struggling to pull herself together. "He's going for an overnight observation and a psychological examination on Thursday. Healer Caldwell thinks Ron could be acting out to get attention." She sounded angry at this.

Bernice rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest as the children raced into the house and disappeared into the sitting room in a fit of giggles.

"Ron is not the kind of boys that would do that," Bernice scoffed. "He's always been such a sweet boy."

"That's what I've said," Molly sniffed, dabbing at her eyes with the tissue Lydia had passed her. "Obviously coming from such a big family would make him feel a little neglected, but he's never been the type of boy that craves attention. Whatever is going on with my son, it's not something he's doing on purpose."

"Mum?" Cedric asked softly as he approached the three women and gently tugged at his mother's sleeve. He turned back and watched as Ginny raced up the stairs to her room without a word. "Something's wrong with Ron."

Molly quickly brushed the tears from her cheeks, pushed her chair back, and ran into the sitting room to check on Ron. He was standing next to Luna, holding the Quaffle they had been tossing around, and staring blankly out in front of him. Molly gently cupped Ron's face in her hand and brushed his hair out of his face as she examined his eyes.

Bernice and Lydia rushed into the sitting room and stood next to Molly. Cedric stood back a few feet and looked up at his mother for some reassurance. Luna was staring at Ron, looking intrigued with her head cocked to one side.

"This is not psychological," Molly sighed, staring into Ron's fully dilated pupils. "This isn't something he can do to himself, is it?" She turned Ron's face to the side for the Lydia and Bernice to see.

The two women examined Ron's pupils curiously and shook their heads. Lydia placed the back of her hand on Ron's forehead and looked up at Molly.

"Does he get the fever each time?" she asked. Molly shook her head and rubbed Ron's arms as she waited for him to snap out of the daze he'd fallen into.

"Not every time. It doesn't usually last very long when it does though," Molly replied, pulling the Quaffle out of Ron's grasp and passing it to Luna. "It usually goes back down once he comes out of it."

"He's going to kill us all," Ron mumbled in a detached monotone.

"Who is, sweetheart?" Molly asked softly, concern etched in her face.

"I don't want to die," Ron whimpered.

"Molly!" Bernice gasped. She pointed down at Ron's hands, which were hanging limply at his sides.

It was slow at first. A small drop of blood trickled from beneath the sleeve of his jumper and into the palm of his hand before sliding down the length of his middle finger and dripping onto the rug beneath his feet. Within a few seconds, blood began pouring off of both of his hands.

Fighting through the shock, Molly pushed the sleeve of Ron's jumper back to expose his right arm. There were fresh slashes running up the length of his arms and blood was pumping freely out of his butchered skin.

Lydia ran to the kitchen and grabbed a handful of kitchen flannels before racing back to Molly's side and helping her wrap Ron's arms to stop the bleeding. Ron continued to stand in one spot, completely oblivious to the frantic women around him.

"Do you know a spell that might heal them, Molly?" Lydia asked, holding the flannel tightly around Ron's left arm while Molly gripped the one around his right. Molly looked up at Lydia questioningly before nodding and reaching for her wand.

She pulled the flannel away from Ron's arm and gasped, dropping her wand and covering her mouth with disbelief. Ron's arm was completely healed with no sign of ever having been cut. Lydia took a step back before removing the flannel she had been holding. Although covered with blood, there were no cuts anywhere on either of Ron's arms.

"My god," Bernice gasped.

"What is going on?" Molly sobbed; feeling defeated.

"Molly, dear," Lydia spoke softly. "Why don't you take Ron and get him washed up? Bernice and I will finish preparing lunch for your little ones and have a chat with Ginny."

Molly nodded, forcing herself to smile gratefully at her friends before gathering Ron into her arms and carrying him to the bathroom. She shook her head sadly as she passed Ginny's closed bedroom door. Setting Ron on the toilet seat, Molly filled the bath with water and set Ron's clothes aside before lifting him into the bath.

She knelt next to the bath and gently wiped the blood away from Ron's skin as he sat motionless in the warm water. His eyes remained dilated and his expression was blank. Molly listened closely to his steady, even breathing and sat back on her heels.

Ron flinched suddenly, coming back to himself. He began thrashing in the bath, not knowing where he was or how he'd gotten there. Molly quickly grasped Ron's arms and tried to calm him down.

"Mum?" Ron squeaked.

"There you are," Molly sighed with a sad smile. She gently brushed Ron's cheek with her hand and kissed his forehead. "Everything's all right."

She wrapped Ron with a towel and hugged him tightly as he stepped out of the bath. She could feel him trembling slightly within her embrace and did her best to calm him down.

"What did I do?" Ron asked shamefully.

"You didn't do anything, sweetheart," Molly replied. "You just disappeared for a moment. Let's get you into something warm, shall we?"

Fred and George raced into the house and sat at the kitchen table. They looked up at Mrs. Lovegood questioningly as she set two bowls of soup in front of them.

"Where's our mum?" Fred asked as he grabbed a sandwich from the tray in the centre of the table.

"She's gone upstairs with Ron," replied Lydia. "She'll be down in a minute."

"That's a good girl," Bernice encouraged softly as she ushered Ginny into the kitchen. Ginny took her seat across from the twins, refusing to meet their gazes as she stirred her soup with her spoon.

"What happened to Ron?" George asked with concern. "Is he OK?"

"I'm sure he'll be just fine, boys," Lydia replied. "See, here he comes."

Molly and Ron walked into the kitchen, both looking quite tired. Ron was wearing a fresh set of clothes and his hair was still slightly damp from the bath. He sat next to Ginny and quietly grabbed a sandwich. Slowly, the remaining Weasley children wandered into the kitchen for lunch. Percy came down from his bedroom where he had been reading one of Charlie's old school textbooks and Bill and Charlie wandered in from outside where they had been out flying with a few friends from school.

Bill sat at the table and looked questioningly from his mother to her friends, who were getting their own children set up with their lunches.

"What's going on?" Bill asked curiously. "Why's everyone so quiet?"

"I did it again," replied Ron sadly, taking a bite of his sandwich and not looking up from his soup. Molly sighed and placed her hands on Ron's shoulders.

"You've done nothing wrong, sweetheart," she explained, kissing the top of his head. "We're going to take you to a healer tomorrow to get everything sorted and you'll be back to your old self again in no time."

"Ginny? Are you OK?" Charlie asked, noticing his sister was unusually quiet.

"I'm fine," Ginny mumbled. She glanced up at her brother and continued picking at her sandwich.

-o-o-

A/N: Yay, you've read this far! Are you still enjoying the story or are you one of those people that has to finish a story once you've started one whether you like it or not? :p Poor Ronnie. What is up with our favorite little red head? Best head off to the next chapter to find out. Please leave a review if you have a moment!


	10. Chapter 9

_Alice sat at the window, watching the sun disappearing behind the trees as night approached. She hugged her arms tightly to herself, trying to hide the full body trembling that had begun after dinner. None of the children knew who the beast was coming for next. They didn't know if the beast actually had a schedule or if it was selecting its victims at random._

_Every movement outside the window made Alice jump. She was trying so hard to be strong and brave for Sophie, but was having very little success._

_She jumped and nearly fell to the floor as a doe and her fawn scurried out of the darkened forest and raced passed the house._

"_Is it coming?" Sophie whimpered from her spot on the floor by the fire. The book she had been reading had fallen to the floor and she quickly gathered it back into her lap. She scrambled to her feet and raced over to the window._

"_Not yet," Alice replied in barely a whisper. "I fear it won't be long now though. The sun is almost gone for the day."_

"_Grab your wand, Alice," David instructed as he entered the room from the bedroom. "I have a plan."_

"_What is it then?" Alice asked hopefully as she raced to the bedroom to retrieve her wand._

"_We're going to try to take that thing by surprise," David replied. Alice's face fell, suddenly losing the confidence she had felt only moments before. "I know, it's not a great plan, but it's really the only thing I've been able to come up with," he sighed after reading Alice's expression. "But I think if we time it right we may be able to throw it off long enough to escape."_

_Sophie timidly curled her fingers around David's and looked worriedly up at her brother._

"_What am I to do, David?" she asked softly._

"_Stay by my side," David replied confidently. "I'll get you out safely."_

_He looked over at Alice and nodded. Alice tried to smile, but quickly looked away and clutched her wand tightly as David quickly tried to teach her the easiest stunning spell he could think of._

_They stopped suddenly as the forest outside became silent. Sophie held her breath and tightened her grip on David's hand. There were footsteps just outside the door now. Alice tucked herself out of view behind the cupboard door while David and Sophie backed tightly against the wall beside the door. _

_The door suddenly burst open, followed by a blast of green light. David and Sophie were thrown across the room before anyone could even begin to cast any spells. The beast grabbed Alice her hair and pulled her back as she tried to run. It grabbed her by the neck and pushed her against the wall. Alice dropped her wand and clawed at the beast's hand in a vain attempt to remove the pressure preventing her from breathing._

_David tried to scramble to his feet to retrieve his wand, which lay only a few feet away, but the beast threw out its free hand and sent David flying across the room. With one swift movement, the beast closed both hands around Alice's throat and tore her head away from her shoulders. _

_The forest was filled with Sophie's screams as the beast removed Alice's magic and dragged both her head and her body back into the darkness, locking David and Sophie in the house once more._

-o-o-

"C – A – T," Ginny read as Bill pointed to each letter in her book.

"Well done, Gin," Bill smiled. "You're going to be reading like Percy in no time."

Ginny scrunched up her nose and looked at Bill with disgust. Bill couldn't help but laugh as she shook her head, refusing to be a book-worm like her brother. He ruffled her hair and turned the page in her book.

"All right, then," he chuckled. "Let's read two more pages and take a break. How are you doing over there Ronnie?"

Ron looked up from his work and shrugged. Bill leaned over to look at Ron's printing and pat his little brother on the back.

"Looks good," he encouraged, "Mum's going to be really happy with your printing. You're going to have the neatest printing at Hogwarts by your first year."

Ron tried to suppress a grin and dipped the tip of his quill back into the bottle of ink.

"Bill, dear," Molly called from the door, "how are the three of you making out in there?"

"We're doing just fine, mum," Bill replied. "We're just finishing up now."

Molly stepped inside, holding a bucket full of vegetables and wearing a pair of muddy, rubber boots. She smiled as she took in the sight of her eldest son tutoring her two youngest children.

"Thank you so much for all of your help, Bill," Molly sighed. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem, mum," Bill smiled. "I like getting to hang out with these two."

Molly nodded and stepped back outside to continue working in the garden. With seven children and only one income coming in, gardening was the only way to keep enough healthy food on the table.

As Ginny began sounding out the next word in her book, Bill glanced over at Ron who seemed to have started daydreaming. A large blob of ink was spreading through the parchment from Ron's motionless quill. Charlie frowned and gently placed his hand on Ron's shoulder.

Ron slowly looked up and faced Charlie, but his expression didn't change. Bill frowned and pulled his hand away as Ron seemed to look right through him. There was no indication that Ron was even registering that he was there. Looking closer, he noticed that Ron's irises looked slightly red.

Ron slid out of his chair and walked over to the kitchen cupboard. He opened one of the drawers and began rummaging through the cooking utensils.

"You OK, Ron?" Bill asked. He motioned for Ginny to stop reading and they both watched Ron curiously.

Ron turned around and looked at Bill and Ginny. He was holding his mother's good steak knife tightly in one hand and had it dangling at his side.

"The child will be sacrificed," Ron announced without emotion. His eyes moved from Bill to Ginny. Bill quickly stood up and shielded Ginny with his body. "The blood of the innocent will be spilled to sustain my power. Your magic will be mine."

"Ron?" he asked, reaching for his wand. Before he could pull his wand from his back pocket, Ron flashed Bill a sinister grin and jabbed the steak knife into his own stomach, just below his ribcage. Without so much as flinching, he let go of the handle and looked down at the knife with a smile. He looked back up at Bill and chuckled.

Ginny's let out a cry of surprise and the colour drained from her face. She stared at the knife before looking up at Ron's face with disbelief.

Ron gripped the handle of the knife and ripped it out of his stomach. He was about to thrust the knife into himself a second time, but Bill quickly overcame the shock of seeing his seven year old brother stab himself and flicked his wand, sending the knife flying to the floor.

"Mum!" Ginny screamed. She leaped from her chair and raced for the door as Bill made his way over to Ron. The smile faded from Ron's face and was replaced with the blank stare he'd had previously and his arms dropped to his sides.

"Bloody hell, Ron," Bill gasped. He grabbed Ron by the shoulders and tried to get Ron to look him in the eye, but Ron's expression was completely blank. Bill grabbed a flannel and pressed it firmly against Ron's stomach to slow the steady flow of blood seeping through Ron's t-shirt.

Molly and Ginny raced back into the house. Molly took one look at Ron and Bill and dropped the bucket of vegetables before running over to her two sons.

"What happened?" Molly gasped, taking the flannel from Bill and cupping Ron's chin in her free hand. "Oh, Ronnie. Not again," She looked into Ron's eyes and shook her head. Ginny timidly picked the knife off of the floor and silently passed it to Bill.

"He just walked over here and stabbed himself, mum," Bill explained softly as he set the knife in the sink. "I didn't have a chance to stop him. I didn't know what he was going to do."

"It's all right, Bill," said Molly. "Run to the fireplace and Floo for a healer, please." She lifted Ron off of his feet and set him on his back on the kitchen floor to look at his wound. Ron blinked and rubbed his eyes with his hands before looking at his mother and frowning.

"Oh, don't come back yet, sweetheart," Molly pleaded sadly.

Ron frowned and looked up at his mum before moving his hand down to his stomach. Molly quickly stopped him, gathering Ron's hands tightly between her own. Ron began to pant, working himself up as the pain began to register in his abdomen. His chin wobbled and he burst into tears.

"She's on her way," Bill announced as he rushed back into the kitchen. "Is he OK?"

"He'll be fine," Molly replied, not sounding as convincing as she had hoped. She continued to hold Ron's hands as Bill knelt next to them and put pressure on the flannel covering Ron's wound. Ron screamed between sobs and tried to pull his hands away from his mother's grasp.

He coughed suddenly and spat out a mixture of spit and blood. Bill quickly turned him onto his side, keeping the pressure against the flannel. Ron's sobbing began to subside as he choked and blood began trickling out of the corner of his mouth and into a pool on the floor beneath his head. Molly gently brushed her hand against Ron's cheek, speaking as calmly as she could as the colour drained from her baby boy's face and he began losing consciousness.

"Stay with me, Ronnie," she coaxed tearfully, "just a few more minutes and we'll get you fixed up as good as new."

There was a flash of green light from the sitting room as the healer arrived at the Burrow. She followed the sounds coming from the kitchen and rushed over to Ron, Molly, and Bill.

"Looks like he's nicked his stomach," the healer explained as she noticed the blood on the floor near Ron's face. "Let's get this all fixed up, shall we?" She removed the flannel and gently lifted Ron's shirt up to look at the damage he had caused. With a few intricate waves of her wand, Ron's skin began fusing back together and the angry red colour of his skin faded back to a light, ivory tone. She had Molly prop Ron up and forced the entire contents of the small vial she had brought with her into Ron's mouth.

"Swallow it all down, Ron," the healer instructed. "Every last drop."

Ron swallowed lazily, grimacing at the taste of the potion. The healer smiled and gently wiped the blood away from Ron's cheek with the flannel she had tossed aside earlier.

"That should do it," the healer affirmed with a smile. "How on earth did this happen?"

"This was another one of his episodes," Molly replied, choking back a sob as she gently rubbed Ron's back. Ron looked tiredly up at his mum and placed his bloodied hand timidly on her knee.

"I'm sorry, mum," Ron whispered, struggling to get the words out as his body willed him to sleep. Molly cupped her hands over her mouth and tried to stifle her sobs. She took Ron's hand and watched as his eyelids slid closed and sleep overcame her little boy.

"Molly, I'm going to bump up Ron's evaluation to tomorrow morning," the healer explained. "I'll put him on the high priority list and we'll get to the bottom of this as soon as we can, all right?"

Molly nodded, still looking down at Ron and letting the tears flow in streams down her cheeks.

The healer gathered Ron into her arms and instructed Molly to work out a sitter for the remaining Weasley children so that she could accompany Ron to St. Mungo's. As Molly began putting Bill in charge, the healer stepped into the fireplace with Ron and disappeared.

Molly quickly packed herself an overnight bag and a few things for Ron before kissing her remaining children goodbye and following the healer to St. Mungo's.

-o-o-

Ron sat back against the psychiatric healer's sofa with his knees to his chest and rested his chin in his palms. He let out an audible sigh and looked over at the closed door where healer Moore had gone to speak with his parents.

There was a chess set directly in front of Ron with the remains of the chess pieces scattered across the board. He and healer Moore had played a few games of chess while she asked Ron a number of questions about his family and his interests. She'd asked him to call her Jenny once Ron had become more comfortable talking with her.

He had done his best to answer all of Jenny's questions, just as his mum had told him to. Every once in a while she would write something down on a piece of parchment. She'd always smile at him afterward.

Ron could tell that some of the healers were getting frustrated with him. They started running tests from the moment Ron had woken up that morning without any success. Unable to find a physical cause for Ron's recent behaviour, he had been scheduled for a psychological examination with Jenny. From her body language and tone when she dismissed herself following the examination, Ron guessed she hadn't been able to find anything either.

This had been the first time in a few weeks that Ron had not had an episode. He'd been up to four or five a day before being admitted to St. Mungo's. Ron closed his eyes, willing himself to have another episode so the healers could figure out what was wrong and send him back home. They'd already told his parents that he would need to spend another night under observation.

"He really doesn't seem like the type of boy that would act out like you've described, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," Jenny explained. She, Molly, and Arthur were sitting in a private little room containing nothing more than a few sofas, a coffee table, and a few potted plants. "Obviously I can't tell for sure in the short time I've spent with Ron, but as far as I can tell he's a happy, seven year old boy, with an extraordinary talent when it comes to playing chess, that wants nothing more than to please those around him. Being the youngest boy of seven children he does have a bit of an inferiority complex, but nothing that worries me at this point."

Molly nodded silently. She had always guessed that Ron had felt inferior to his siblings, but hearing a stranger say it out loud suddenly made her feel terrible.

"You don't think he's acting out because he thinks he goes unnoticed then?" Arthur inquired.

Jenny smiled and shook her head.

"I really don't," she replied. "I honestly don't think Ron's recent behaviour is something he is in control of."

"So, where does this leave us?" Arthur asked, gripping Molly's hand for support.

Jenny sighed and sat back against the plush sofa cushions. She crossed her legs and clasped her hands in her lap.

"There is a growing condition in young children, mostly boys, that can affect behaviour, attention spans, and cause hyperactivity," Jenny replied. "It's not easily diagnosed because each child displays symptoms differently, but there is a potion that I can prescribe that will help alleviate the symptoms."

Molly looked up at Arthur with concern etched on her face. Arthur placed his hand supportively on her shoulder as she gripped the material of her skirt in her lap and waited for Jenny to continue.

"There are common side effects that can last up to two weeks such as a change in sleeping patterns, hyperactivity, or lethargy. It really depends on the child, but the positive effects of the potion will show up within the first two weeks," Jenny explained. "If you don't see any change in Ron's episodes within a month, we can take him off the potion and try something else."

"So, basically we're going to pump Ron full of potions until we find one that works?" Arthur asked, not pleased with the lack of answers they'd received from the healers.

"Right now, the best we can do is hope Ron has an episode while under observation tonight," replied Jenny. "Unfortunately I'm not really familiar with the work medical healers do, but I think witnessing an episode for themselves may help them come to a conclusion."

Molly and Arthur smiled politely and followed Jenny out of the little room and into Jenny's office where Ron was still waiting.

"Hey, Ron," Arthur greeted. "You ready to get something to eat?"

Ron smiled up at his dad and nodded enthusiastically. He pulled himself up off of the floor and followed his parents out of the office and toward the canteen, saying goodbye to Jenny as he passed her.

Jenny smiled at the Weasleys and leaned against the door frame, watching the family disappear around a corner before closing herself in her office to finish the written report of her observations of Ron.

-o-o-

A/N: Another long chapter. Sorry, I didn't know where to cut this one. But you made it to the end! Congrats! There's still more. Enjoy and don't forget to review and let me know what you're thinking.


	11. Chapter 10

Ron climbed onto his hospital bed and rested against the pillows. He tried not to pay attention to the five small, glowing beads orbiting around his head as he pushed his feet under the blankets. Two of the healers assigned to Ron's case had placed the beads around Ron's head an hour before to monitor his brain activity throughout the night. Their hope was to catch a change in his brain activity during an episode, but Ron had been episode-free since his admittance to St. Mungo's.

"You're not ready for bed already, are you?" Arthur chuckled as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Your dinner should be coming soon."

Ron shrugged and looked at the covers of the comic books his dad placed on his bed.

"I threw a few muggle comics in there for you," Arthur announced proudly as he sat next to Ron. Ron shifted over to give his dad some room and picked up one of the muggle comic books from the pile.

"They don't move," said Ron, frowning and opening the comic book.

"Brilliant, aren't they?" Arthur replied. "Shall we find out what muggle adventures this 'Archie' character has?" Ron smiled and nodded as he handed the book he was holding over to his father. He leaned into his father's side and stared at the pictures as his father read the comic aloud.

"Knock, knock!" A round, smiley healer gently tapped on Ron's door and let herself in. She pushed a polished trolley full of food trays into the room and over to Ron's bed. "I hope you're hungry," she said with much animation. "There are loads of goodies for dinner tonight. Are you in the mood for sausages and mash or chili and a jacket potato?"

Ron sat up and peered over at the trolley. The food at St. Mungo's was nowhere near as good as his mother's cooking, but the jacket potato looked somewhat appealing.

"I'll take the chili, please," Ron replied softly. The healer smiled and lifted one of the trays of chili from her trolley and placed it on the table next to Ron's bed. She maneuvered the table so that it was sitting right over Ron's lap and got him set up with utensils and a glass of orange juice. She turned back to her trolley and grabbed a small dish from the bottom compartment. She placed it next to the dinner plate she had given him then took a step back and placed her arms on her hips, trying to look authoritative, but she couldn't wipe the grin off of her face.

"That's a chocolate volcano cake," she said with a wink. "Don't you eat that until you've finished your dinner though."

Ron smiled and nodded. "Thanks!" he exclaimed. The healer nodded and disappeared through the door with her trolley, off to deliver dinner to the next patient on her route.

"Would you like some?" Ron asked, looking up at his dad as he sat up so that he could eat.

"Nah," Arthur replied. "I think your mum would be right stroppy with me if I go home and don't eat what she's left for me."

Ron nodded and tucked into his potato while Arthur continued to read the Archie comic from where they had left off.

Ron finished his pudding just as Arthur finished the last story in the book. As Ron pushed the table away from the bed, the soiled dishes and containers from his dinner disappeared.

"Well," Arthur grunted as he set the comic on the bedside table and stood up to stretch his back. "There's a game room just down the hall. Do you want to go stretch your legs and see what they have to play with in the game room?"

Ron looked self-consciously at the beads floating around his head and bit at his lip.

"Can we stay in here?" he asked softly. "We could play a few games of chess or something?"

Arthur smiled at Ron and nodded.

"Sure, we can," he replied. "You pull the table back up to the bed and I'll unpack your chess set."

-o-o-

Molly quietly stepped into her bedroom and untied her apron from around her waist. She hooked it over the corner of her bedroom door and brushed herself off before pulling her overnight bag out of the cupboard. She was going to spend the night at St. Mungo's with Ron while Arthur stayed back at the Burrow.

Arthur had been at St. Mungo's since 3pm. The Ministry had dismissed him early to spend the afternoon with Ron. Amos Diggory had spoken with the head of the department and informed them of the issues the Weasley family was having and the Ministry had graciously offered Arthur all the time he needed to be with his family until Ron was better – with his regular paycheque.

Molly could hear two little feet quietly making their way down the staircase and toward her bedroom before stopping right outside the door.

"Mum?"

It was one of the few times she could tell the twins apart without looking. George was the only twin that ever came to her bedroom to talk alone. She smiled and turned toward the door to find George looking sheepishly up at her.

"Yes, George," Molly replied with a smile. "Come in, dear. Come, have a seat."

She sat on the foot of the bed and patted the space next to her to encourage George to sit with her. He seemed to consider the invitation for a moment before moving quickly over to the bed and hopping up next to her.

"What's wrong, poppet?" Molly asked, pulling George close with her arm over his shoulder.

"Is Ron going to be OK?" George asked, almost inaudibly. Molly smiled. George had always been the more sensitive of the twins. Both he and Fred loved irritating the rest of their siblings, but they truly cared for them as well. They'd be the first to defend any of their family members.

"Ron is going to be just fine, love," Molly replied softly. "The healers are going to figure out what's going on and they'll fix it as soon as they can."

George sat silently next to his mother and wrapped his arm around her back, enjoying the small amount of individual attention he was receiving. Molly looked down at her son sympathetically. The expression on George's face was filled with guilt and he looked like he was working up the courage to speak.

"Has Ron gone mental because Fred and I pick on him?" George whispered sadly. "Just like the way we messed him up with spiders?"

Molly pulled George into a tight hug and smiled sadly.

"No, sweetheart," she replied. "Ron knows you two do it for a laugh. This isn't something you've done."

"Fred is worried too," he mumbled suddenly. "He won't say it, but he is."

"I know," Molly sighed. "We all are. The healers just want to watch him for a little while to see what's going on and then they'll be able to fix him up good as new."

George nodded and squeezed his mum tightly before getting up and walking out of the room.

Molly bowed her head and breathed deeply, willing herself not to break down and cry, before getting back to her packing.

-o-o-

_Sophie was quiet. She hadn't moved or spoken a word in hours. Although David was concerned, he let her be. It was more important to find a way to either escape or kill the beast than pull his baby sister from the depths of insanity. It would be harder on her to spend the next twenty hours constantly terrified, not knowing when the beast would return, all the while replaying Alice's grisly beheading over and over again._

_David scoured every book in the house in search of a spell that would help them. Just as he was losing hope, he discovered a single page he must have overlooked the night before. It was simple magic, not very strong, but possibly strong enough to contain the beast temporarily. He would have to get himself and Sophie out of the house, just long enough to close the beast inside and cast the spell. Once the beast was inside the house, David and Sophie could get away and seek more powerful wizards to get rid of the beast forever._

_It all sounded so simple, but how were they going to get out of the house and lock the beast inside?_

-o-o-

A/N: We all knew deep down that the twins weren't as tough as they pretend to be. Thought I'd add a cute little scene with George to show their softer side. I hope you're still enjoying the story. There's more ahead!


	12. Chapter 11

Ron was curled up in his parents' bed, surrounded by books and his Famous Witches and Wizards card collection. He had spent the last few hours in his parents' room after taking the potion the healers had prescribed. The potion left him nauseous and had caused him to be violently ill following tea.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" Molly asked as she sat on the bed next to Ron.

"I'm OK," Ron replied softly. He flipped over one of his cards to read the back before setting it back in the piles he had organized.

"It's nearly time to turn the lights out for the night," Molly explained. "Shall we read a book before we turn in?"

Ron stuck the tip of his tongue out thoughtfully and gathered all of his cards together before looking up at his mum.

"Can we look at that muggle book that dad brought home?" he asked with an excited grin. "The one with the muggle in the glasses and the red and white jumper?"

"That 'Where's Walter' book we were looking at earlier?" Molly asked.

"Where's Wally," Arthur corrected as he walked into the room wearing his pajamas. "I left it in the drawer of my bedside table." He slipped into bed next to Ron and retrieved the book. "Where did we leave off, m'boy?" He leaned against his pillow and opened the book for both himself and Ron to read.

"That one!" Ron replied pointing to one of the brightly coloured pages as his dad flipped through the book. He cuddled against his father and scanned the pages to find the hidden character. Molly smiled as she slipped into bed on the other side of Ron and huddled into the middle to look at the book. She waved her wand to dim the lights before setting it on her bedside table and helping the boys find Wally amongst the other characters in the book.

After a while, Molly picked up her own book and read silently while Arthur and Ron continued to search the pages of their book for the Wally character. She looked up from her book as Arthur chuckled softly. He was smiling over at her and nodded his head toward Ron, who had fallen asleep leaning against him.

"Poor dear," said Molly softly. She and Arthur carefully shifted Ron further into the bed so that his head was resting on his pillow. Ron breathed in deeply and curled onto his side, clutching the pillow tightly in his fists. Molly kissed Ron's cheek and ran her hands through his hair.

"How was he today?" Arthur whispered, pulling the blanket over Ron's shoulders.

"He zoned out a few times," Molly replied with a sigh. "He only acted strangely once this afternoon and it didn't last very long; A minute or two, perhaps."

"What did he do?" Arthur asked, staring up at his wife with concern.

"He just sat down and cried," Molly replied. "He didn't say anything this time though; just cried for a moment then got back up like nothing had happened."

"Very strange," Arthur breathed. "Did the healers come up with anything?"

"They want him back next week," Molly replied. "They're still insisting that this is either a mental disorder or something he's doing for attention."

Arthur sighed and shook his head tiredly. "I'm sure they'll figure this out," he suggested, leaning back into his pillow. Molly nodded and dimmed the lights before curling up under the blankets with her husband and son.

-o-o-

"Arthur?"

Molly's voice broke through his subconscious, causing him to stir.

"Arthur, wake up."

Arthur breathed in deeply and squinted against the candlelight within the room. He pushed himself up so that he was propped up against the headboard and tried to force his eyes to adjust to the light.

Molly was sitting up with Ron leaning against her. Ron was breathing slowly and staring off into space.

"Can you get the bucket?" Molly asked as she gently ran her hand against Ron's back. "Quickly, please."

Arthur grunted as he leaned over the side of the bed and retrieved the bucket they had given Ron earlier. He passed the bucket to Ron, who clung to it tightly, his hands shaking.

Arthur gently placed his palm over Ron's forehead, feeling the heat radiating from Ron's skin.

"When did this start?" Arthur croaked; he still hadn't fully woken up.

"Just now," Molly replied. "He woke me up to let me know he wasn't feeling well."

Ron gagged and gripped the bucket tighter against his chest. Molly spoke softly as she continued to rub his back, trying to comfort him as best she could.

"That's it, son. Get it all out," Arthur encouraged as Ron brought up everything he had left in his stomach. Ron spat the foul tasting saliva from his mouth and tried to catch his breath before his stomach forced out anything more.

"Oh, sweetheart," Molly sighed sympathetically as Ron's empty stomach continued to try to force something out.

"I'm sorry," Ron whimpered.

"For what, poppet?" Molly asked. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I don't know," Ron sniffed before dry heaving into the bucket once again. Molly smiled sadly and kissed the top of Ron's head.

-o-o-


	13. Chapter 12

Ginny exploded into a fit of giggles as Bill picked her up, flipped her upside down, and spun around in circles. He carefully set her back on the ground and chuckled as Ginny tried to get back on her feet and stumbled around, too dizzy to walk toward him.

"Again!" Ginny laughed, holding her arms out and falling to her knees.

"Not until you can walk straight," Bill laughed as he helped Ginny back to her feet. "How about you, Ron? You want to have a go?"

Ron was sitting quietly on the front step next to Charlie. He seemed to consider Bill's offer for a moment, but quickly shook his head. Bill smiled sympathetically at his brother before snatching Ginny back into his arms and spinning in circles again. Ginny screamed happily and once again attempted to get to her feet once Bill had set her down.

"Again!" Ginny squealed, trying to catch Bill as he walked in circles around her.

"Four times is my limit," Bill laughed. "Mum will kill me if I make you sick."

"I'm not going to get sick," she announced, giggling as she toppled over and landed on her backside.

Ron smiled and laughed quietly at his sister. Charlie looked down at his little brother and nudged him gently.

"Want to go for a quick fly around the garden before lunch?" he asked.

"On your broom?" Ron exclaimed. Charlie nodded and got to his feet. Ron pulled himself up and followed close behind Charlie toward the shed.

Bill smiled over at Charlie and lifted Ginny off the grass. He threw her over his shoulder and followed Charlie and Ron.

The two eldest brothers mounted their brooms and had Ron and Ginny sit in front of them. Ron gripped the broomstick tightly, unable to suppress the smile on his face. Charlie had only taken him for a ride on his broom once before. They hadn't flown far, but Ron had loved every second of it.

"Hold on tight," Charlie warned. Ron nodded and gripped the broomstick even tighter as Charlie kicked off the ground and sped into the air. They flew over the Burrow and around the yard, followed closely by Bill and Ginny. Charlie took them over to the Weasley's mini Quidditch pitch and over the vast sea of trees that surrounded their house before flying back home. They caught sight of their mum waving them in for lunch and landed back at the shed.

"Thanks, Charlie!" Ron exclaimed happily. He threw his arms around Charlie's waist and hugged him tightly.

"Any time, mate," Charlie replied.

"You and Ginny head in for lunch," Bill instructed. "Charlie and I will put the brooms away and meet you there in a moment."

Ron nodded just as Ginny took off running toward the house.

"I'll race you there!" she shouted.

"Not fair!" Ron laughed as he started running behind her. "You got a head start!"

Ron started at a run, but didn't make it far before his pace slowed. By the time Ginny made it inside, he was walking quite slowly. His legs were trembling and he soon collapsed on the grass. With a great deal of effort, he pulled himself back up and walked a few more feet before collapsing again. Charlie and Bill watched as Ron continually walked a few steps, collapsed onto his knees, and tried again.

They picked up their pace and approached Ron who was now only a few feet from the front steps.

"Ron, are you all right?" Bill asked, helping Ron to his feet.

Ron nodded, taking a moment to catch his breath before taking a few more shaky steps.

Bill caught Ron as his legs crumpled beneath him. He helped him to his feet and attempted to lift Ron into his arms to carry him the rest of the way.

"No," Ron panted breathlessly. "I can do it."

"Is everything all right?" Molly asked as she stepped outside. She took one look at Ron and rushed down the stairs. "Oh, poppet, the potion is starting to kick in, isn't it?" She lifted Ron into her arms and carried him into the house, followed by Bill and Charlie.

Molly sat Ron at the kitchen table where Percy, the twins, and Ginny were already tucking into their pasta. Molly dished out large portions of pasta onto each plate before sitting at the head of the table and serving herself.

"Where did you lot run off to?" Molly asked, looking over at Bill and Charlie.

"We took Ron and Ginny out for a fly around the garden," Charlie replied.

"Hey, how come you never take us flying!" Fred asked indignantly.

"I don't want your germs all over my broom," Charlie replied with a smirk.

"Whatever!" Fred laughed.

The pasta was quickly consumed and the Weasley children began excusing themselves from the table until only Ron and Ginny were left.

As Molly cleared the table, she glanced over at Ron's plate. Very little had been eaten and Ron seemed to be eating abnormally slow.

"Sweetheart, are you all right," Molly asked softly, placing a stack of dirty dishes in the sink. She watched as Ron nodded and rubbed his eye tiredly.

"Mum, I'm not hungry," Ron replied softly. He looked up at Molly apologetically and set his fork down. Molly nodded silently and lifted Ron's plate off the table.

"Why don't you have a kip on the sofa and I'll make you something to eat when you get up?" Molly instructed patiently. "Come with me, love. I'll get you tucked in."

Molly got Ron set up on the sofa and covered him with the warm, down-filled blanket that had been passed down to her from her own mother. Ron fell asleep almost instantly, unable to keep his eyes open any longer. Molly sat next to him and gently stroked his back, watching the young boy's breathing slow as he fell into a deep sleep.

-o-o-

_It was all sorted. David had cast a stunning charm on the door, which he hoped would momentarily disarm the beast long enough for David to cast a more powerful stunning spell. He and Sophie were hiding away in the attic. David had cut a hole in the ceiling just above the front door. It was just large enough so he could see when the beast entered the house so that he could cast the spell._

_Sophie was still silent. David hadn't been able to get any sort of response out of her, which made getting her up into the attic severely difficult. He'd tended to her scraped arms and legs as soon as they were safely tucked away out of sight. He had cut her hair in order to avoid having the beast grab her as it had Alice. Sophie's hair now hung limply at chin length. He wasn't sure if it would make a difference, but he wanted to avoid having the beast get a hold of his baby sister at all costs._

_It wouldn't be long now._

_By the time they'd hidden themselves away, the sun was already going down. With very little sleep, David was strictly running on adrenaline. It was up to him to protect what was left of his family. Every thought running through his head abruptly came to a screeching halt as the beast burst through the front door, accompanied by the flash of green light, just as it had the night before._

_David silently peered through the hole below him to find the beast stunned and motionless on the kitchen floor. He quickly grabbed Sophie and dragged her out of the attic. He leapt over the beast while clutching Sophie tightly to his chest._

_Just as he reached the door, the beast shot up and grabbed David by the ankle. He stumbled forward, dropping Sophie on the lawn. He flipped himself over and desperately tried kicking his foot free while scrambling to get his wand out of his pocket._

_The best chuckled and lifted David into the air with a small flick of its hand. David landed just outside the door, only metres away from Sophie._

_The beast stood over Sophie and grinned evilly over at David._

"_No!" David cried. "Take me! Don't touch her, please!"_

_Still grinning sadistically, the beast looked down at Sophie and clenched its fist. Sophie's torso exploded and her head dropped limply to the side. The beast extracted Sophie's magic and allowed her it to flow into its own body. _

_While the beast was distracted, David scrambled to his feet, unable to face his baby sister any longer. He raced toward the trees, hoping the beast would follow. Saving his own life was no longer important, but he had to seal the beast away where he couldn't hurt anyone else._

-o-o-


	14. Chapter 13

"Iwannawalk" Ron mumbled tiredly into Bill's shoulder as his big brother carried him downstairs. Bill placed his hand on the back of Ron's head as it rolled back heavily. As of late, Ron didn't seem to have the energy to stay awake for more than a few hours or even hold his own head up. The potions the healers had prescribed had completely drained him of any energy, leaving him constantly struggling to keep his eyes open or form coherent sentences.

"When we get to the bottom, little man," Bill replied. He rounded the corner and descended the last flight of stairs before setting Ron on his feet. Ron leaned heavily against Bill's side and struggled to walk toward the sofa where his father and Percy were sitting. Bill did the best he could to take most of Ron's weight and help him over to the sofa. He sat Ron down and propped him up with cushions to keep him from falling over.

"Good timing, sweetheart," Molly sighed tiredly as she entered the sitting room. "It's time for you potions." She had the potion bottle in hand and sat on the coffee table across from her youngest son.

"No," Ron whimpered, attempting, and failing, to stand up and get away. Bill pulled him close and wrapped his arm over Ron's shoulder for support. "I donwananymore," Ron slurred.

Fred and George were sitting on the sofa across from Ron and Bill. Normally, they would snicker in unison at their little brother's displeasure, but they sat in an abnormal silence, glancing up at Ron occasionally.

"I know, poppet," Molly replied sadly. "But the healers said the potions are only going to make you sleepy for the first little while. Once your body is used to them you'll start feeling so much better."

Ron's chin quivered and two large tears spilled down his cheeks as he tried to put on a brave face for his mum.

"That's a brave, little wizard," Arthur encouraged from where he was sitting. "You're going to be feeling ship-shape in no time."

Molly carefully poured Ron's potion onto a spoon and cupped Ron's chin before sliding the spoon into his mouth. Ron grimaced and swallowed the potion before pulling away and resting his head on Bill's shoulder.

"Good boy," Molly commended. She forced herself to smile and kissed Ron's cheek before returning to the kitchen and closing the door behind her. Arthur quietly excused himself and followed his wife into the kitchen.

Molly had her back pressed against the wall and was staring at the potion bottle tearfully.

"Molly?" Arthur asked, slowly walking toward her and wrapping his arm over her shoulder.

"I can't do it anymore, Arthur," Molly wept. "Look at what this potion is doing to him. I hate that I'm doing that to him. It kills me to see that look on his face every time I have to give him his next dose."

"Molly," Arthur breathed sympathetically. "The healers told us the potion would do this to him for the first week or two. Once his body has gotten used to the potion, he'll be back to his old self again. The episodes have already stopped."

"That's because he can't even hold his own head up anymore," Molly sobbed. She turned into Arthur, clutching his shirt and sobbing into his chest.

"Let's give it until Monday," Arthur suggested. "If we don't see any improvement, we'll take him back to St. Mungo's and ask them to try something else." He held Molly tight and rested his cheek against the top of her head. "I'll give him the potion tomorrow."

-o-o-

A/N: I'm not going to add the rest of the chapters tonight as I'm not sure I want to add a few more bits or not before continuing with what I've already written. I'm so glad you've read this far! I hope you're still enjoying the story. Leave a review or a comment and let me know your thoughts. More to come very soon!


	15. Chapter 14

"It's so wrong," Fred whispered to George. They were still sitting at the kitchen table. The other children had finished eating long ago and were off doing other things now; everyone except Ron. Ron had his head resting on his arms next to his untouched tomato soup and cheese sandwich.

Arthur had roused Ron from his nap on the sofa earlier to bring him into the kitchen for tea, but Ron had fallen back asleep the moment he sat down.

"I've see Ron eat a pumpkin pasty in his sleep before," George whispered. "It's just not right to see Ron with a plate of untouched food."

"Boys, let him sleep in peace," Molly scolded as she entered the kitchen from outside. "Why don't you two go outside and play with Ginny before the sun goes down?"

Fred and George nodded before rising and walking outside.

"Want to see if we can convince Ginny that the dead toad we found earlier is a chocolate frog?" Fred asked.

George nodded with a devious grin and the two boys quickened their pace across the garden.

Molly quietly cleared the last of the dishes from the table before smiling sadly at Ron.

"Come here, darling," she said softly as she lifted Ron off his chair and carried him upstairs to his bedroom. He continued to sleep soundly as Molly gently placed him on his bed, removing his trainers and covering him with a light blankly. She pulled his window open to let the warm summer breeze filter into the humid bedroom and stopped to watch her children at play outside. Even at this height, Molly could see that Ginny's cheeks were red with rage as she chased Fred and George across the garden, throwing something that looked very much like a dead toad at Fred's head.

Molly resisted the urge to hang her head out of the window to shout at them, not wanting to disturb Ron. She walked on tip toe to the door before dousing the light in the bedroom and making her way back to the kitchen.

-o-o-

Ron stretched his arms and legs and yawned before attempting to roll over. His muscles refused to cooperate, his body too tired to put any effort toward moving, so Ron resigned to staying in the position he was in. He couldn't remember how he'd gotten into his room, but that was becoming a common question in his mind. He slept so often now that he would find himself waking hi various different settings; no doubt having been carried by one of his parents or brothers.

Just as he began nodding off once again, his eyes wandered over to the corner of his bedroom and snapped open. If he'd had the energy to sit up and call for help or run away he would have. Unfortunately he was stuck in bed and unable to get away as the little girl with short, black hair sat in the corner of his bedroom.

She was sitting with her knees pulled to her chest and was crying softly as she stared up at Ron. Ron refused to let his body shut down and pull him back into unconsciousness. He fought against his eyelids as they threatened to slide closed. He held his breath and watched the girl closely as he attempted to slide out of bed.

"We're running out of time," the little girl sobbed, dropping her head and getting to her feet.

Tears slid down Ron's cheek as he pushed himself out of bed and attempted to steady himself on his feet.

"Mum!" Ron cried meekly; too quiet for his mum to hear from the kitchen. He took a few steps before collapsing on the floor. He was panting from the exertion of getting out of bed and had no energy to pull himself back up. As his eyes slid closed and sleep began to take over he could hear hurried footsteps rushing up the stairs.

The little girl took a step toward Ron before looking at the bedroom door. She shook her head sadly and stepped backward, disappearing into the wall just as Molly raced into the room and gathered Ron into her arms.

-o-o-

Thank you so much to those who have been reading my fic and to On a ding-a-ling, Corn is a Sexy Lion, kirin-saga, 12397, and RonWeasleyfan225 for your reviews! More to come!


	16. Chapter 16

Molly was sitting at a picnic table with the Diggory family, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Arthur. Ron was sitting next to her, cuddled close to her side, fast asleep. Molly gently ran her fingers through Ron's hair, leaning closer to him and holding him tightly.

The park was filled with Ministry employees and their families. There was a Ferris wheel and a carousel set up on one side of the park along with a number of food stalls with candy floss, hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, and jacket potatoes all free to the Ministry guests. At the opposite end of the park were a number of family oriented games like three-legged races, potato sack races, and a mini Quidditch pitch set up for the older children.

Bill and Charlie were playing Quidditch, Percy was casually following the Minister around trying to learn everything he could from the eavesdropped conversations, Fred and George were off terrorizing a few of the other children, and Ginny was hanging out with a few other girls she'd met that evening.

Ron shifted suddenly, inhaling deeply and cuddling closer to his mum. Molly held her breath, silently praying that it was Ron that was waking and not whoever it was that was taking over her little boy from time to time.

"Mum?" Ron groaned, adjusting his neck and sitting up a little higher. Molly breathed a sigh of relief and hoped no one had noticed how much she had relaxed when Ron spoke her name.

"What is it, poppet?" Molly asked, cupping Ron's chin in her palm and smiling down at him.

"I'm hungry," Ron replied softly. Molly's eyes widened with shock and she couldn't keep herself from smiling. This was the first time in over a week that Ron wanted to eat something. If they were at home, she would have leaped from her seat and started cooking a five course meal. She smiled over at Arthur, who immediately got up from his seat.

"What'll it be, Ronnie?" Arthur asked. "Burger? Sausage? Fish and chips?"

"Doesn't matter," Ron replied tiredly, his eyes slipping closed once again. Molly's smile, which had spread from ear to ear only just moments ago, faded slightly and she kissed the top of Ron's head.

"Fish and chips, I think," Arthur announced, turning to walk to one of the hot food carts.

He returned shortly with a plate of fried fish and a pile of chips smothered in ketchup. Ron's eyes slid open and, still leaning against his mother, he reached for a chip and watched as his father began cutting the deep-fried, battered cod into small pieces. Ron smiled up at his dad and ate silently while his parents resumed their conversation with Kingsley and the Diggorys.

The conversation ended suddenly as Charlie and the twins raced over to the table and smiled breathlessly at their parents.

"What's going on, boys?" Arthur asked, setting the knife and fork he had been using beside Ron's plate.

"They've just set up an ice cream cart," replied Fred.

"Can Ron come with us to get one?" George asked. "Charlie said he'd take us all up on the Ferris wheel too."

"You'll not be throwing those ice cream treats from the Ferris wheel," Molly warned.

Fred and George looked at each other and smiled innocently back at their parents.

"Promise," Fred replied.

"You up for some ice cream, Ron?" Charlie asked.

"K," Ron replied with a mouthful of fish and tartar sauce. "Can I go?" He looked from his mum to his dad and awaited their decision.

"You bring him back if he starts feeling off," Molly instructed as Arthur lifted Ron from the bench and got him set up on Charlie's back. Ron wrapped his arms around his brother's neck as Charlie wrapped his arms around Ron's legs.

"Don't worry," Charlie replied. "We'll be fine." Molly and Arthur smiled and watched as the twins raced ahead and Charlie carried Ron piggy-backed toward the ice cream cart.

"You've got some really great kids there, Arthur, Molly," Kingsley announced.

"We do," Molly agreed, squeezing Arthur's hand under the table.

"What flavor do you want, Ronnie?" Fred asked as they approached the ice cream cart.

"Cedric Diggory said they have over one hundred flavors to choose from," George stated.

"So no choosing chocolate or vanilla," Fred said with a smirk.

Just as they approached the cart, Draco Malfoy and his two mates, Crabbe and Goyle, were about to leave with their own ice cream cones. Draco took one look at Ron up on Charlie's shoulders and sneered.

"Well, if it isn't the Weasleys," Draco muttered. "Father and I were just talking about you; wasting the Ministry's health care funds. He says its nature's way of weeding out the weaker wizards. The Ministry should be cutting off your funding and letting nature take its course."

"Sod off, Malfoy," Fred spat.

"Why are you even here?" George snapped. "Your father doesn't work for the Ministry. This picnic is for Ministry employees and their families not scum like you and your dad."

"My father happens to be very close friends with the Minister for Magic," Draco replied rudely. "We were invited by him; personally."

"Get out of our way, you little snot," Charlie threatened. "Crawl back to your daddy and take your daft little mates with you."

Not daring to go up against Charlie, Draco shot the group of Weasleys one last dirty look before pushing passed Crabbe and Goyle and making his way back over to where his parents were sitting with the Minister for Magic.

"Ignore him, Ron," Charlie grumbled. "Once you're feeling better you and I can give him a good kicking." Ron nodded and looked over at the ice cream menu, not wanting to make eye contact with his brothers. He suddenly didn't feel like having any ice cream.

-o-o-

Molly sat, deep in thought, at the kitchen table with a quill in hand and a piece of parchment covered in her handwriting on the surface before her. Her children were scattered around the garden, busy entertaining themselves with various activities. Even Ron had been able to join his siblings for the afternoon. He, Charlie, Tonks, and Ginny were knee deep in the Weasley's pond catching various pond-live, both magical and non.

Although he had to cling to someone in order to remain standing, Ron had been able to keep up with the rest of the children fairly well. He'd just risen from a three hour nap and now seemed to have a fair amount of energy to him. They were finally beginning to see some improvement with the side effects from the potions he had been prescribed.

Molly set her quill down as she watched Ron inspecting one of the creatures he had caught. She could tell he was beginning to fad now. His eyelids were heavy and he tried to stifle a yawn behind his hand.

Molly sighed as she returned her attention to the list she had started. Ron's healer had suggested she make a list of all of Ron's episodes in hopes of finding a common factor or situation that could be triggering Ron's odd behaviour.

Percy quietly entered the kitchen from outside, closing the door behind him and wiping his shoes clean before pouring himself a glass of milk and joining his mum at the table.

"What are you doing, mum?" he asked curiously.

"I'm trying to remember all of Ron's episodes," Molly replied. "Ron's healer asked me to track them for him."

"May I help?" Percy asked, visibly excited about the possibility of helping with an important task. "I have a very good memory!" Molly smiled and gently placed her hand on Percy's shoulder.

"That would be wonderful, sweetheart," Molly replied. "Let's try to start from the beginning."

-o-o-

Thanks again to all of those who have read this far and a big thanks to those who left reviews. Sorry for making you wait so long for this chapter. I'll try to get more chapters up as soon as possible.


	17. Chapter 17

Healer Caldwell sat at his desk, silently poring over the paperwork from one of his cases. He pinched the bridge of his nose and shuffled the pile of parchment before looking up to find Molly Weasley standing at his door.

"Molly?" he asked, surprised to see her standing there. It had been nearly a week since Ron's last appointment and Molly hadn't called or written with any concerns. He motioned for her to come into his office and sit down and he watched as she approached his desk apprehensively.

"It only happens when we're at home," Molly stated as she sat down. She looked at Caldwell's perplexed expression and continued. "Ron's episodes; they only happen when we're at home. I've been thinking back over the last few months and every single episode has happened at home inside the house."

Caldwell frowned and sat back in his chair with his arms folded.

"Fascinating," he grunted, looking off into space thoughtfully and tapping his fingers in succession against his bicep. "Have you noticed any particular triggers?"

Molly shook her head and slid to the edge of her chair.

"What are the chances that… Ron could be…" Molly began, not knowing how to pose her question in order to have the healer take her seriously. "Is it possible that Ron could be… possessed?" She shifted her focus onto her hands, and began ringing them nervously.

Caldwell shifted forward, placing his elbows on his desk and resting his chin against his interlocked hands.

"It's a possibility," he grunted. "Look, Molly. I know it's frustrating not knowing what's wrong with your boy, but honestly in my thirty years in this profession I have yet to see a real possession. It's an uncommonly rare occurrence."

"But not impossible?" Molly added hopefully.

Caldwell broke eye contact and shook his head despondently as he sighed deeply.

"I'm really sorry, Molly," the healer responded softly. "There are still so many other factors that we need to look at before I would even think about considering the possibility of possession. I'm afraid I'm just not ready to abandon the idea that all of this is either a subconscious disorder or self-inflicted."

Something flickered in Molly's eye and her apprehensive demeanor disappeared in an instant. Caldwell could see the maternal rage building through Molly's entire body; the stiff posture, the focus of the eyes; he'd experienced this many times before.

"I may not be a healer," Molly hissed threateningly. "But I know my son. I'm tired of all of the bloody tests and potions. I need some answers and I am not going to leave this office until I get some. Is there a way to test for a possession?"

Her eyes bore into Caldwell, not wavering for even a moment as she waited for some sort of response from the healer.

"Hear me out, Molly," the healer said with a resigned sigh. "Witches and wizards in that field are very similar to those who study Divination. It doesn't matter how much you study in that field; if you're not born with that particular gift it's very difficult to get accurate results. Whether there is a paranormal presence or not, those people will do their level best to convince you there is."

He watched as Molly's face fell. She had really thought her latest discovery would have helped her little boy.

"There are tests that can be done, but they are very unreliable. If there is an entity in Ron's body, it won't want to be found. Spirits and demons, both good and bad, often leave the host temporarily once the test equipment is in place. I don't know a great deal about possessions, Molly. I…"

"Is there a specialist then?" Molly interrupted hastily. "Is there someone with some level of experience that could help my Ron?"

"There is one healer here at St. Mungo's that seems to be authentic**," **Caldwell replied against his better judgment. "Molly, please don't get your hopes up."

"There is something, or someone, inside my boy that is taking over and I can see it getting stronger the longer we allow it to stay there," Molly explained. "I don't think there's only one either. There are at least two, if not more… things… and they're completely taking over."

"Those are classic symptoms of multiple personality disorder," Caldwell explained wearily.

"The healer," Molly said quickly. "The one that deals with possessions; how soon can we see him?"

"How about this," Caldwell suggested. "There is one test that we can do that will scan the entire brain and give us at least some idea if there is something going on. It's not particularly pleasant and it's not something we normally do with children, but I just wouldn't feel right sending you to a specialist in the paranormal field without knowing for certain there isn't something medically or mentally wrong with Ron."

"Fine," Molly replied. "If we do this test you'll give us the go ahead to see the paranormal specialist?"

Caldwell sighed deeply, looking at Molly despairingly. He shook his head and opened the top drawer of his desk, removed a small business card, and handed it to the anxious Weasley.

"Remember what I told you, Molly," he warned. "The likelihood that Ron's episodes are caused by possession is slim to none. Being able to track an actual possession is difficult and often inconclusive. I just don't want you to be disappointed. I want you to continue with the potions I've prescribed and bring Ron to do the test."

Molly took the card and quickly read it over, ignoring the healer's pleas. She smiled, stood up, and thanked Caldwell before hurrying out of his office. Caldwell dropped his head into his hands and shook it, agitated.

The Weasleys were going to be in for a great deal of disappointment. He'd been down this road so many times before.

-o-o-


	18. Chapter 18

Ginny jumped down the wooden staircase two steps at a time, leaping off the last three as she reached the bottom. She lost her footing as she hit the ground and stumbled forward onto her hands and knees. Charlie sped down the last few steps after her and helped her to her feet, concern written across his face as he looked her up and down.

"You all right there, Gin?" he asked. He continued to watch as she wiped off her knees and put her hands on her hips proudly.

"I wanted to land like that," she replied matter-of-factly. Charlie smiled and shoved Ginny playfully before heading outside.

"Hey, Gin. Bill said he saw some pixies out in the garden," Charlie explained, turning back to look at his sister. "Maybe once he and I are done de-gnoming the garden, you and I can try to catch a few pixies."

Ginny's eyes brightened and she danced on her toes excitedly.

"Go see if mum has some empty jars to put them in, all right," Charlie instructed. Ginny nodded and raced into the kitchen as Charlie hopped off the front steps to meet up with Bill in the garden.

Ginny bounded over to the kitchen cupboard and pulled the door open in search of an empty jar to store her pixies. She huffed irritably as she noticed a few empty jars on one of the top shelves, just out of her reach. She turned to grab one of the chairs from around the table and froze suddenly. There was a trail of bloody footprints from where she was standing to the centre of the room where she had stepped in a large pool of blood.

Ron was standing in the corner of the room, breathing heavily, and staring at the pools of blood trailing from the centre of the room to the place where he was standing. His t-shirt and trousers were saturated with blood and a steady stream of blood was trickling from the hem of his shirt.

He looked up at Ginny with tears streaming down his cheeks and a desperate expression on his face. Ginny took a step back toward the back door, ready to make her escape should Ron do anything to frighten her.

"Ginny," Ron whimpered desperately. "Please don't leave me alone." He choked back a sob and looked back down at the blood on the floor.

Ginny looked over at the door then back at her brother, chewing her lip nervously as she tried to figure out what to do.

"What happened?" Ginny asked timidly, taking a step closer toward Ron.

"I don't know," Ron sobbed, wiping his face on his sleeve.

"Are you hurt?" Ginny asked, gathering enough courage to walk toward her brother. Ron shook his head and slid to the floor, burying his head in his hands and sobbing.

Ginny knelt next to Ron and hesitantly placed her hand on Ron's shoulder.

"It's going to be ok, Ron," she said calmly. "I'll go find mum, ok?" Ron nodded, keeping his head bowed between his knees. Ginny scrambled to her feet and ran out to the garden to find their mum.

Within moments, Molly and Ginny were racing into the kitchen and over to Ron's side. Molly lifted Ron out of the corner and cuddled him tightly, trying to comfort her little boy. Ron wrapped his arms around her neck and stared down at the pools of red splattered all over the kitchen floor.

"Tell me exactly what happened, sweetheart," Molly encouraged.

"I don't know," Ron whimpered, shaking uncontrollably.

"My poor boy," Molly breathed. "That must have been terribly frightening for you to wake up like this all alone. I'm so sorry."

"Did I hurt somebody?" Ron asked shakily. Molly could feel an increase in Ron's shaking as he asked this. She clutched him tighter and sat with him on one of the kitchen chairs.

"No, darling," she replied. "No one is hurt."

"Where is it all from?" Ron asked, leaning back to look at his mum.

"Don't worry about it, Ron," Molly replied, not wanting to tell Ron that it was possibly his own blood all over the floor. "Everyone is all right, so there's no need to worry about it."

Ron nodded, knowing he shouldn't push for more information, and collapsed back into his mother's embrace.

"Ginny, dear, go get Charlie and Bill, please," Molly instructed softly as she rocked Ron gently from side to side. Ginny nodded and quickly raced outside to retrieve her oldest siblings.

"Everything is going to be all right, poppet," Molly hummed softly into Ron's hair. "We're going to figure this out and make it all better." Ron nodded and clung tightly to his mother.

Charlie and Bill exploded into the kitchen and stopped short as they took in the sight of the bloodied kitchen.

"Is he ok?" Bill asked, coming back to himself before Charlie, who was still staring in awe at the kitchen floor.

"He's fine," Molly replied reassuringly. "Just a mite frightened is all." She smiled up at Bill, but it didn't reach her eyes. Bill could see how worried she was right through the brave face she was putting on for her children. "Come give your brother a cuddle, please."

Bill gently pulled Ron away from their mother and was met with his baby brother's tight embrace. He could feel Ron trembling and quickly tightened his own embrace in response.

"Where are you going?" Bill asked as Molly disappeared into the sitting room.

"I'm going to call a healer," Molly replied from the next room. "I want them to actually witness one of Ron's episodes."

Ron's eyes flickered with a tinge of red and he loosened his grip on Bill. As a flash of green light lit the sitting room, Ron pushed himself away from Bill and frantically began pacing around the kitchen. He dug his fingernails into his skin and tore at his flesh while searching for something to use as a weapon.

Realizing what Ron was looking for Bill tore his wand from his pocket and placed a locking charm on the utensil drawer. Ron growled angrily as he tore at the each of the kitchen drawers. Bill continued to charm each drawer and cupboard in an attempt to keep his little brother safe.

Ron stopped suddenly, panting, with his back to both of his brothers and Ginny, who had come back inside just as Ron began terrorizing the kitchen. She gently took Charlie's hand and stood slightly behind him.

Ron turned around slowly and grinned maliciously at the trio before pulling back his arm and punching one of the kitchen windows. Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed one of the larger pieces of glass and began hacking away at his arms, chest, and stomach.

"Mom!" Charlie shouted as Bill waved his wand and extricated the piece of glass from Ron's grasp.

As two pairs of hurried footsteps could be heard racing through the sitting room toward the kitchen, Ron's eyes rolled back and his legs gave out from under him, causing him to collapse in a heap on the floor.

"Merlin's beard!" the healer gasped as she and Molly entered the kitchen. The two of them rushed to Ron's side and began assessing and healing the self-inflicted wounds.

"He's burning up," the healer noted as she felt Ron's cheeks.

"He wasn't before," Molly explained. "And he wasn't cut up when I left him. There was blood everywhere, but it wasn't coming from anywhere on his body."

"He just went mad," Charlie piped in. "He was cuddling Bill and as soon as you left he started running around the kitchen looking for stuff."

"Have you been giving him the potions that were prescribed?" the healer asked as she waved her wand and cast a cleaning charm on the room. The bloody mess disappeared from the floor as well as from Ron's clothing.

"Yes," Molly replied. "The side effects were just beginning to wear off. He hasn't had any episodes since he started taking them, but he hasn't had any energy either. This is the second day that he's been able to stay awake for most of the day."

The healer watched as Ron began to stir and Molly gathered him into her arms. She sighed sadly and avoided looking Molly in the eye.

"I really think we should admit him to psychiatrics, Molly," she said softly, hoping the rest of the children couldn't hear. "There's something going on and if he's hurting himself… How long before he starts…" Her gaze flickered over to Charlie, Bill, and Ginny.

"He would never hurt anyone intentionally," Molly growled dangerously.

"He may not be able to control it," the healer replied.

-o-o-

_David raced away from the house, rain pelting against his skin and making it difficult to see where he was going. He didn't know where he was going exactly; the nearest neighbours were five kilometres away. _

_He no longer had a plan. It had seemed so simple earlier. Get out of the house, lock the beast in. He had been so stunned with losing Sophie that he had missed his chance to lock the beast in the house._

_He didn't dare look back to see if the beast was following him. He was almost positive the beast was close behind, but due to the rain it was impossible to hear any footsteps behind him. Looking back to see if the beast was there could cost him precious seconds of his escape, so he continued running._

_He only made it a short distance into the forest when the beast caught hold of him and threw him to the ground._

-o-o-

Thanks once more to those who have read this far. I hope you're still enjoying the story! Thanks so much to those who have left reviews. I really enjoyed reading them and I'm so glad you're enjoying my little fan fiction.


	19. Chapter 19

Ron played absently with the hem of the hospital-issued pajamas he was wearing as medi-witches and wizards bustled around the ward; some coming in and out of his room in preparation for his procedure. He forced himself to smile at Ginny as she waved at him from the corridor. The rest of the Weasley children were waiting on a bench in the corridor with Bill and Charlie in charge of keeping them out of trouble. Arthur had taken the afternoon off in order to be with Ron and Molly during the procedure.

"Almost ready, Ron," chirped a young medi-witch with plaits hanging down both shoulders. "We're just waiting for healer Caldwell to finish with another patient."

"Is it going to hurt?" Ron asked quietly once the hospital staff had left the room. He looked worriedly up at his mum and dad who were standing nervously at his bedside.

"Not for very long," Molly replied. "Healer Caldwell said it will give you a bit of a headache." Ron nodded and resumed his watch of the hospital staff as they rushed around the ward tending to the other patients.

His stomach flipped as healer Caldwell entered the room with two medi-wizards and closed the door, obscuring the view of his brothers and sister. Healer Caldwell smiled and rested his hand on Ron's shoulder in a gesture to relieve some of Ron's anxiety.

"Basically what we'll be doing is stimulating each section of Ron's brain and scanning for any abnormalities," the healer explained as the two medi-wizards got Ron to lie on his back and placed a number of monitors and beads, similar to those that had been used during Ron's previous admittance to the hospital, around Ron's head.

"Most patients find it somewhat overwhelming and uncomfortable," Caldwell continued. "But this is a short procedure, so the discomfort won't last long."

Molly cupped Ron's hand between both of her own and smiled down at her little boy. Ron sighed and watched a few of the beads as they orbited his head just as they had done before.

"All set, Ron?" Caldwell asked cheerfully as he pulled his wand from his back pocket. "You hold tight to your mum's hand and give it a squeeze if you need to, all right?"

Ron nodded nervously and began trembling as one of the medi-wizards gripped his ankles quite tightly and the other wrapped his fingers tightly around the arm opposite that which Molly was holding.

Ginny's face drained of colour as Ron's screams were heard throughout the corridor. Movement in the corridor seemed to cease momentarily as healers and medi-witches and wizards stopped what they were doing to locate the source of the screaming. Other patients and visitors also looked around the ward in bewilderment.

Bill quickly got up from his seat on the bench and moved to sit next to Ginny. She grasped his hand and squeezed it tightly as she stared at the door of Ron's room.

"Maybe we should go upstairs for a cuppa," Bill suggested, hoping to prevent the frightened children from having to listen to their brother any longer.

"Mum said we're not to move from this spot until she gets back," Percy whispered quietly, his eyes wide and staring without blinking at the door.

Bill chewed his lip nervously, knowing their mother wouldn't have wanted the younger children to sit there had she known what Ron's procedure was going to be like.

True to Caldwell's word, the procedure did not last long. The healer and the two medi-wizards soon slipped outside, leaving Molly, Arthur, and Ron alone in the room.

Bill released the breath he had been holding and worked up the courage to get up from the bench and make his way into Ron's room. Molly was sitting on a chair, holding Ron in a tight embrace as he sobbed into her shoulder. She cradled his head with one hand while rubbing his back with the other and trying to calm him down.

"They want to keep him overnight for observation," Arthur explained quietly as he led Bill back out to the corridor. "We won't have the results of the test until tomorrow morning."

"Is he ok?" Bill asked.

"A little traumatized," Arthur replied as he glanced back at his wife and son, "But he'll be all right. Your mum and I will stay with him in shifts today, so we'll need you and Charlie to help out at home." Charlie nodded and motioned to the other Weasley children to follow their father back to the first floor to floo home. Ginny timidly peered into Ron's room before following close behind the twins.

-o-o-

The remainder of the day dragged on at St. Mungo's. Ron worked himself up into a right state whenever someone walked passed his room. He was in constant fear of healer Caldwell coming back to repeat the procedure regardless of how many times his parents tried to convince him there would be no more tests.

By the evening, Molly was fuming. She'd taken her anger out on a few of the medi-witches that had come in to check on Ron. She was furious that Ron's procedure had reduced him to the state he was in. He clung to her or Arthur and cried whenever someone entered the room and he'd worked himself up so much that he'd been physically ill twice throughout the day. He even refused to eat his dinner for fear that a potion had been slipped into his food.

"This is ridiculous," Molly snapped as she pulled a medi-witch into the corridor. "That stupid test has completely scarred my son. I can't get him to eat and he won't sleep."

"I can see if healer Moore, the psychiatric healer that spoke with Ron earlier, will come speak with him," the frightened medi-witch suggested. "That may help him calm down some. I can also see if healer Caldwell will prescribe a sleeping draught to help him settle for the night. If it gets really bad we can look into memory modification."

"I'll not have anyone meddling with my son's memory," Molly spat.

"I'll go get healer Moore, Mrs. Weasley," the medi-witch replied softly. "I'm sure she'll be able to calm him down a bit."

Molly nodded and turned back toward Ron's room. She frowned as she looked around at the empty room. She sighed as she stepped inside and heard Ron's labored breathing coming from under the bed.

"Come out, poppet," she called softly, getting onto her hands and knees and peering under the bed at Ron who was curled into a tight ball and pushed up against the wall at the head of the bed.

"I want to go home," Ron whimpered.

"I know you do," Molly replied, leaning on her side and resting her head on her hand. "We're going to go home first thing tomorrow morning once healer Caldwell tells us what he learned from your test this afternoon. But you need to come out and get some rest."

"I don't want to go to sleep," Ron stated; his chin quivering as he looked over at his mum.

"Ok," Molly conceded. "At least come give me a cuddle then. I don't want you lying on the dirty floor."

With much consideration, Ron crawled out from under the bed and latched onto his mum, hugging her tightly. Molly pulled him up onto the bed and the two of them sat in silence, listening to the activity in the corridor.

Ron flinched as healer Moore tapped softly on the door. He whimpered and tightened his grip on his mum as the healer closed the door and made her way further into the room, sitting on the foot of the bed with a bowl of chocolate pudding in hand.

"It's all right, Ronnie," coaxed Molly. "You remember Jenny, don't you? She's just come to visit with you."

-o-o-

It was quiet in the Weasley house; the lights were dimmed and the children were all nestled comfortably in their beds for the night. Molly pulled Ginny's comforter over her shoulders and gently kissed the top of her head before stepping quietly out of the room and shutting the door behind her; leaving the door open just a crack.

Molly gasped as she turned and bumped into Arthur who had been standing silently in the corridor watching Molly tuck their daughter in. Molly smiled at him and followed as he took her hand and led her downstairs to the sitting room.

"Molly, we need to talk," Arthur sighed as he sat in his favorite chair. Molly frowned and sat on the sofa across from him. She brushed her hands over her apron nervously as she tried to read her husband's facial expression.

Arthur looked at the floor, collecting his thoughts, before looking back up at his wife. He leaned forward and clasped his hands between his knees as he rested on his elbows.

"Arthur, what's wrong?" Molly asked timidly. "Did something happen at work?"

"No, everything is fine at work," Arthur replied. "I wanted to talk to you about Ron." He watched as Molly sat back and looked at him questioningly, waiting for him to continue. "It's about the paranormal specialist. I don't think we should give up on the regular healers just yet. I don't want you to get your hopes up."

"You sound just like healer Caldwell," Molly chuckled. "What is it going to hurt to get a paranormal specialist to come observe our Ronnie for a few days?"

"People in that field are manipulative and deceitful, Molly," Arthur replied with an exasperated sigh. "And… mental illness runs in my family."

"Bilius was an alcoholic, Arthur," Molly stated.

"My brother's problems started long before he took up drinking," Arthur replied sadly. "He always was a bit off."

It was Molly's turn to stare silently at her feet. Arthur slowly got to his feet and made his way over to the sofa before sitting next to his wife and curling one arm around her waist.

"I'm so tired of not getting any answers," Molly sniffed as she held back the tears that were fighting to escape. "I really don't want this to be a mental disorder. A possession would be so much easier to deal with."

"I know, love," Arthur replied. "We just need to let the healers do their thing. Eventually they're going to figure this out and Ron will be back to his old self again."

"I still want to have the paranormal specialist come see him," said Molly. "I have a really strong feeling and I want to be absolutely sure we've looked into every possibility."

Arthur nodded and squeezed Molly in a one-armed hug.

"Just promise me you'll be skeptical," Arthur warned. "Don't let them convince you of anything without proof."

"I promise," Molly replied.

-o-o-

A/N: I am so sorry for making you all wait so long for an update. I've been so lazy this summer! I keep opening up the document to add to it and get distracted with other things. I really will try to get another chapter up before my summer holiday is over. I hope this was enough to tide you over for a little while. Thanks so much to everyone that left a review. I love reading what your thoughts are regarding the story. Enjoy the rest of your summer and I will try not to wait you wait as long for the next chapter!


	20. Chapter 20

A/N:

So, my intention was to add another chapter before going back to work… I definitely failed. I apologize to everyone that I left waiting. Hopefully this chapter will tide you over for a while. And to further make amends for my lack of updates. I will be posting another chapter tomorrow and another on Monday. I hope that makes it up to you! Enjoy and thanks so much for being patient with me!

-o-o-

The smell of pancakes and maple syrup wafted through the Burrow, causing the children to gather in the kitchen for breakfast. As was common in the Weasley kitchen, food was soon piled high on each plate and the children immediately began tucking in to their food.

Molly smiled as she placed a second helping of pancakes in the centre of the table and helped herself to breakfast. She sat back and listened as her children conversed excitedly about their plans for the day.

A sudden knock on the front door drew everyone's attention and silenced the excited conversations. Ron's face completely drained of colour and his eyes grew wide with terror. He hurriedly pushed away from the table, causing his chair to topple backward onto the floor, and raced upstairs to hide in his bedroom.

"Oh, Ronnie," Molly called to him sympathetically. "Healers don't use the door, poppet." She sighed as Ron's bedroom door was heard slamming closed and moved to open the front door.

A man in his mid-thirties stood on the other side of the door, smiling politely and dressed in business casual attire. His hair was neatly styled and auburn in colour. He held out his hand and firmly shook Molly's hand.

"Mrs. Weasley?" he asked. She nodded and smiled back, waiting for him to explain why he was at her door. "I'm Curtis Cunningham. It's nice to meet you." He continued to smile as he glanced behind Molly to look at the brood of children that had gathered to see who was at the door. "Would you mind if we had a quick word outside?"

"Of course," Molly replied. She turned to her children and grasped the handle of the door. "All right, back to the table and finish your breakfast, all of you. Someone go collect Ron and bring him back downstairs, please."

Percy nodded and hurried upstairs as Molly closed the door and stepped into the garden with Curtis.

"I'm sorry, Curtis," Molly announced as they walked slowly away from the Burrow. "I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?"

Curtis chuckled apologetically as they continued to distance themselves from the hose.

"I apologize, Mrs. Weasley," he replied. "I didn't want to say anything about what I do in case there is a presence in the house. I received a referral about your son from healer Caldwell. I specialize in possessions and paranormal activity. If we are dealing with a possessions and the entity knows what I do, there can be a reluctance to make their presence known."

"Oh," Molly breathed a sigh of relief, "For a moment I wasn't sure what it was you were doing here."

"I'm sorry," Curtis laughed, "That happens a lot. It would be so much easier to just introduce myself and tell people what I do, but it really makes my job a great deal more difficult. You wouldn't believe how many of my clients initially turn me away thinking I'm a door-to-door broom peddler."

"Honestly, that was one of my first thoughts," Molly laughed.

"It's going to be really important to keep my profession a secret for as long as possible," Curtis explained as he sat on a log near the pond. He motioned for Molly to join him and waited for her to sit down. "With your permission, I'd like to spend a few days observing your son as subtly as possible as well as getting as much information regarding your home and its history."

Molly maintained eye contact with Curtis, nodding intermittently as he explained what he would be looking for over the next week.

"What am I to tell the children?" Molly asked. "They're going to wonder why you're here."

"I've had some of my clients tell people I'm a distant relative visiting unexpectedly or if your children know all of your family you can tell them I'm an old friend from school or a childhood friend you haven't seen in a while," Curtis replied.

"I hope you're ready for a lot of questions, Mr. Cunningham," Molly chuckled. "I do have an inquisitive lot."

"That won't be a problem, Mrs. Weasley," Curtis grinned as he got to his feet and took Molly's hand to help her up. The two of them began walking slowly back to the house. "I've had a lot of practice playing different parts. It's just part of the job."

"We were just sitting down to breakfast," Molly stated as she led Curtis into the house and toward the kitchen, "Would you like some pancakes or some sliced fruit?"

"That's very kind of you, Molly," Curtis replied. "I did eat before I came though and I'm not sure I have room for anything more at the moment."

Curtis smiled politely at the children as he and Molly entered the kitchen. Everyone, including a very nervous looking Ron, was waiting at the kitchen table and watching Curtis inquisitively as he and Molly joined them at the table.

"Children, this is Curtis," Molly announced as she resumed picking at the food on her plate. "He grew up next door to your father when they were just boys. He's going to be staying with us for a little while to visit with your father."

-o-o-

Arthur returned home from work later in the evening. Molly had sent him an owl to let him know about Curtis and the story they would have to uphold in the house and around Ron. He really didn't agree with Molly about the possibility of Ron's problem being caused by possession, but he was going to play along anyway; for Molly.

He hoped his performance was believable. As soon as he'd arrived home he pulled Curtis into a tight hug and looked him over, commenting on how much he'd changed and asking about his family. He must have played his part relatively well. He caught Molly smiling back at him with pride as he stepped away from Curtis.

Throughout the evening, the charade between the three adults continued. They sat around the sitting room making up childhood stories and pretending to reminisce about old times until the children lost interest and scattered around the back garden to amuse themselves.

Ginny and Ron went upstairs to collect a few items from their bedrooms to build traps in the garden for whatever small, magical creature that would be dumb enough to wander into them. Ginny was the first to rip down the stairs and outside, nearly knocking Bill over, who had stopped in the kitchen for a quick glass of water before. He and Charlie had met up with Tonks for a ride on their brooms and were going to toss a Quaffle around for a bit before the sun went down.

He stood at the kitchen counter and watched as Ron stepped carefully down the stairs, his arms full of gnome-trap supplies. He stopped at the foot of the stairs, unnoticed by any of the adults, and stared silently at Curtis. Bill watched as Ron's eyes flickered, a look of hatred spreading across Ron's face and a hint of red filling his eyes.

"Ron?" Bill asked, setting his empty glass on the cupboard and stepping toward his little brother. Startled, Ron flinched and looked over at Bill, clutching his supplies tightly to avoid dropping anything.

"Hey, Bill!" Ron exclaimed. "Want to help Ginny and me build some traps?"

"Sorry, little man," Bill replied, "Charlie and Tonks are waiting for me outside."

-o-o-

Molly was on her knees in the dirt with a small shovel in one hand and the stalk of a carrot in the other. As she ripped a carrot from the earth and placed it in the basket beside her, a shadow slipped over her. She started and turned around quickly, relieved to see Bill standing behind her.

"Bill, darling," Molly sighed, clutching her chest with her free hand as her racing heart began to slow back to its normal pace. "You scared me." She patted the ground, waiting for her eldest son to sit next to her. "What is it, dear?"

"Who is Curtis, really?" Bill asked, softly enough that they would not be overheard.

"What do you mean?" Molly asked, going back to her gardening so that Bill wouldn't see the look of guilt on her face.

Bill sat on the ground and leaned back, letting the warm summer sun wash over him.

"Is he here for Ron?" Bill whispered as he looked over at Curtis, who was having a very animated conversation with Fred and George over by their father's shed.

Molly stopped digging for a moment, not making eye contact with Bill. She quickly resumed her work to avoid anyone getting suspicious of their conversation.

"Ron mustn't find out," Molly replied, almost inaudibly. 

What Bill said next made Molly drop her shovel and sit erect. Her eyes widened and she stared at him with shock.

"He doesn't know," Bill had replied. "But whoever it is that shows up every once in a while inside Ron knows that Curtis isn't who he says he is."

-o-o-


	21. Chapter 21

A/N:

It's a short one, but there will be another one tomorrow! Enjoy!

-o-o-

"It knows," Molly whispered shakily as she arranged the items on Arthur's workbench. She, Arthur, and Curtis were standing in Arthur's shed, hoping to have a conversation that would not be overheard by Ron and whatever demons or entities that might be listening.

Arthur quickly pulled Molly to his side before she could start cleaning and organizing the rest of his muggle treasures. She tended to clean when she was upset or anxious; that or cook.

"Has Ron said something?" Curtis asked, leaning against the workbench and looking at Molly intently.

Molly shook her head. "No," she replied. "It was Bill."

"You can't get much passed Bill," Arthur sighed. "He's very perceptive."

"Bill said he's seen Ron… well, not Ron, but the other one, watching you," Molly replied, looking back at Curtis. "I don't understand. I thought our story was believable."

"It's ok, Molly," Curtis replied. "We can still make this work. We need to keep our story straight and continue the charade. Whatever is inside Ron may just be suspicious because I'm new in the house. In a few days it may lose interest as long as we keep the act going."

"How much is this costing us per day?" Arthur asked seriously, eyeing Curtis.

"I don't charge by the day, Arthur," Curtis replied seriously. "In good conscience I will not charge you a thing unless there is a definite possession and only if we can get rid of it."

Molly could feel her husband relax slightly beside her. She had realized how tense he had been since Curtis had arrived. Money was always a concern for Arthur.

"Did Bill say anything else?" Curtis asked.

"Just that he looked really suspicious," Molly replied. "And that he'd noticed Ron's eyes change colour."

"Red?" Curtis asked.

Molly flinched and clutched Arthur's hand tightly. "Yes," she whispered.

Curtis scratched the back of his head, looking perturbed. "It sounds like we're dealing with something malevolent," he sighed.

-o-o-

The kitchen table was surrounded by a sea of red hair. Curtis stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the gingers with his wavy, auburn hair. Everyone was in attendance, apart from Arthur who had gone off to work only moments earlier.

With a wave of her wand, Molly directed bowls of oatmeal onto the table in front of each of her children and Curtis. A flurry of movement began as milk was poured and honey and sugar were splatted into each bowl. Conversation began slowly and grew as each of the children began to fully wake up.

Ron on the other hand remained in a tired stupor as he slowly picked at his oatmeal. He yawned and rubbed his eye with his fist before stretching over the table to grab an apple from the fruit bowl.

"You look tired, love," Molly stated as she leaned over and kissed the top of Ron's head. "Did you not sleep well?"

"Ghoul was too noisy," Ron sighed. "I couldn't sleep."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Molly replied. "I'll talk to your father and see if he can do something to keep it quiet."

Ron nodded and bit into his apple as he stirred a glob of honey into his oatmeal.

"You have a ghoul?" Curtis asked.

"It came with the house," Molly replied. "Every time we added on to the house, it moved up. I think it prefers the attic."

"My grandmother used to have a ghoul," Curtis stated. "It preferred the basement though. I never did check it out though. I was always too scared to go down there. Have you ever seen your ghoul Ron?"

Ron shook his head and tried to cover another yawn with the back of his hand.

Molly looked over at Curtis expectantly. He gave her a quick glance before starting a conversation with Ginny about the traps she and Ron had set up in the back garden. Molly looked back at the staircase that led to all of the bedrooms. Upstairs in the attic, the family's ghoul was resting after a night of mucking about. Ghoul had never been a concern for her. It was harmless; just annoying. With the look Curtis had just given her, she had never wanted ghoul gone more than she did now.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N:

There you go. Three chapters in three days. My Thanksgiving gift to you.

-o-o-

The house was quiet. Molly and Arthur had put the youngest children to bed nearly an hour before. Percy, Charlie, and Bill had stayed up to chat with their parents in the sitting room and read before finally making their way to bed as well.

Curtis was in the kitchen, sitting at the table with a warm mug of tea when Molly rushed into the room and pulled Curtis to his feet and out the door without a word. Arthur was following quickly behind as Molly led the two of them toward Arthur's shed for their, now nightly, review of the day.

"Is ghoul doing this to my son?" Molly asked the second the door of the shed had clicked shut. She rounded on Curtis and stared him down with a wild look in her eye.

Curtis stepped back, shocked by Molly's approach. He could tell she was frantic; blaming herself for what was happening to her son. If ghoul had been responsible for Ron's recent episodes, she was responsible for not getting rid of ghoul in the first place.

"Ghoul is harmless, Molly," Curtis managed to sputter as he was backed into a shelf full of Frisbees and rubber gloves.

As Molly stepped back, both men could see a hint of disappointment in her body language. It would have been so simple to blame ghoul and evict it to make everything better again.

"But at breakfast this morning," Molly squeaked as Arthur wrapped his arm around her. "You seemed so interested in our having a ghoul."

"Absolutely," Curtis replied. "Like I said, ghoul is harmless, but you having a ghoul gives me a better of an idea of what we're working with; Especially considering the fact that your ghoul was here before you moved in."

"I don't understand," said Arthur.

"Ghouls tend to thrive in homes with a dark past," Curtis explained as he glanced out of the window toward the house. All of the lights in the burrow were turned down except the one in the kitchen. All of the children were asleep; the house was quiet apart from the ghoul in the attic.

"How much do you know about the history of your house?" Curtis asked.

"Nothing, really," Arthur replied. "We bought it for next to nothing. It was a small house with one bedroom when we moved in. It hadn't been lived in for years and the real estate agent hadn't mentioned anything about the previous owners. We built on as our family grew. It's about four times the size it was when we had first moved in."

"If our house has a dark past, what does that mean for our Ronnie?" Molly asked softly, pressing herself against Arthur and gripping him tightly.

"It furthers my belief that we're working with a possession," Curtis replied. "Your ghoul makes me think we're working with something evil."

Arthur sighed as he looked down at his wife. He could see that she was frightened, but she was still ready to take on anything that was hurting their son. When it came to their family, Molly Weasley was fighter. Nothing and no one was going to hurt her children.

"I think it would be best if I leave for a few days," Curtis suggested. This got both Molly and Arthur's attention. Before Molly could protest, Curtis continued. "We need to make my story as believable as possible. Tomorrow we tell the children that I'm going to visit my gran. In a few days, I'm going to come back because my gran has been sent to hospital and I need a place to stay until she's released. This should make whatever is possessing Ron a little less suspicious of me and hopefully when I get back I will be able to witness one of Ron's episodes. I think the suspicion is keeping the entity from making any moves."

Arthur nodded as his wife sighed and crossed her arms. "We'll tell the children at breakfast tomorrow," she instructed. "We'll expect you back by the following afternoon."

-o-o-

Ron stood at his bedroom window, staring down at his father's shed. The lights were on and every so often he could see someone move passed the window. His eyes narrowed and his fists clenched into tight fists; his eyes glowed red in the darkness.

Tiny footsteps from somewhere within the room caught his attention, but he didn't turn around. They stopped suddenly, only a few feet away.

"Is he gone?" a small voice whispered. There was terror in the voice and it was followed by quick, audible breaths.

Above them, ghoul was getting restless. Ron's gaze shifted to the ceiling above where loud pounding and scattered items could be heard.

He turned around suddenly, and stared the little girl down; his eyes glowed in the darkness, reflecting the anger and evil within. He bared his teeth and let out a terrifying growl that shook the glass within the window pane.

The little girl screamed and turned on her heels before racing out of sight through one of the walls. Ron panted, his lip curled over his teeth and his fists still clenched tightly.

Light suddenly streamed through the space at the bottom of Ron's bedroom door and hurried footsteps could be heard making their way upstairs.

Without a sound, Ron crawled into bed, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep. Bill threw open Ron's bedroom door and stood with his wand out in front of him, the tip glowing enough to illuminate the room.

He lowered his wand just slightly as he moved further into the room. He was sure he had heard a noise coming from Ron's room. Ron was a heavy sleeper, but a noise that loud would have woken him up.

"Ronnie?" Bill asked softly. "Are you awake?"

He stepped toward the bed and looked at his little brother. Ron was completely out and snoring softly. His blankets were pulled tight to his chin leaving his feet uncovered. With a wave of his wand, Bill stretched the blanket out enough to fully cover Ron and quickly surveyed the room once more.

Up in the attic, ghoul was still mucking about. Bill rolled his eyes and stepped back into the corridor, closing Ron's door behind him.

As the door clicked shut, two red eyes slid open and stared at Bill's feet through the space under the door. They stayed planted to the spot a moment more until he was satisfied that nothing was going on in Ron's room then he dimmed the light and made his way back downstairs to his bedroom, thinking that he'd imagined the sounds he'd heard.

-o-o-

A/N: I hope that tides you over for a while. It's back to work for me, but I will definitely try to put more of an effort into updating more frequently. Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers and Happy Columbus Day to those of you in the US!


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Who sucks at updating regularly? That would be me.

First off: Happy New Year! I figured if I posted this on New Year's Day (12am), I'd be more likely to update more often.

Thanks so much to those of you who have read this far and who have stuck with me even though I'm so horrible with updates. I hope this tides you over for a bit. :)

-o-o-

Ginny and Ron stood a few feet away from the house, waving to Curtis as he prepared to disapparate. Curtis waved to the two children then to Molly and Percy, who were standing at the door to see him off.

Curtis disappeared from sight with a loud crack as he turned away from the family. Ginny and Ron stopped waving and stood staring at the spot where Curtis had been standing before racing back to the house.

"All right, you two," Molly announced as they entered the kitchen, "I'm about to do the washing. Run along and collect the laundry from upstairs, please."

Ginny huffed irritably and stomped upstairs to start the weekend chores. Molly set about casting enchantments on the feather dusters and brooms to clean the kitchen, failing to notice that Ron was still in the room watching her with a steely glare. His lip curled and he clenched his fists as his eyes momentarily flickered with red. As he took a step toward his mother, Charlie stepped into the room, placing his hands on Ron's shoulders and snapping him out of his trance.

"Hey, Squirt," he greeted, stepping further into the kitchen to rummage through the cupboards for a snack. "Hey, mum."

"Charlie," Molly gasped. "Where have you been? You just missed Curtis."

"Sorry, mum," Charlie responded through a mouthful of brioche. "Tonks asked me over to look at her dad's new broom."

Ron blinked a few times before stepping out of the room and racing upstairs to get the laundry his mother had requested.

As he stepped into his bedroom, his left hand grasped the doorknob and slammed his door closed as if it had a mind of its own. Ron stepped back, astonished, and hugged his left hand tightly against his torso. He timidly approached the door and opened it again before stepping away. He watched his left hand, half expecting it to start moving around of its own accord.

"Ron? Ginny? Is everything all right up there?" he heard his mother call from the main floor.

"Sorry, mum," Ron called back. "It was an accident." He held both of his hands up, flexing and bending his fingers to make sure he was still in control of them. Satisfied that everything was normal, Ron began picking up the dirty laundry around his room.

-o-o-

Charlie shot up in bed, startled awake by the slamming of a door downstairs. He held his breath and listened closely, trying to figure out if he had actually heard the noise or if it had be part of a dream he had been having.

The wind was blowing wildly outside and whistled eerily against his window, creating a haunting melody with the rain and intermittent claps of thunder. He could hear his father snoring loudly from his parents' bedroom and ghoul mucking about in the attic.

Then he heard it again, the unmistakable sound of the back door swinging in the wind and colliding against the side of the house.

Charlie slid out of bed and cringed as his bare feet pressed against the cold, wood floor. He searched blindly for his slippers and slid them onto his feet before making his way out to the hallway and down the stairs as quietly as possible. The sound of the storm hadn't seemed to have woken anyone else in the house. Charlie was different that way. While his entire family consisted of heavy sleepers, he'd always been easily woken.

He moved quietly down the narrow staircase, listening to the violent summer storm raging outside. The hinges of the back door groaned as the door swung open in the wind and slammed against the house again. Instinctively, Charlie drew his wand, holding it at the ready in case he met up with someone or something in the kitchen.

A bright flash of lightning lit the kitchen momentary, just enough for Charlie to ensure he was alone. He magically illuminated the tip of his wand and surveyed the kitchen before making his way over to the door. He grabbed the brass knob before the door could crash against the house once more and peered outside briefly before closing the door and locking it tightly.

Charlie couldn't help feeling somewhat uneasy as he stood silently in the kitchen. Molly and Arthur always made sure the house was closed up before going to bed. Someone would have had to have opened the back door and left it open after Molly and Arthur had gone to bed. Still feeling uneasy, Charley made his way back to his bedroom. Had he acted on his instinct to check the house more thoroughly, he would have seen the small, bloody footprints leading toward the back door.

Charlie doused the light of his wand and placed his wand back on his bedside table. He stood at the window momentarily, watching the rain drip steadily along his window; pooling along the panes before falling to the ground. He focused on one droplet, mesmerized as it slid along the window, moving slightly to the right before changing direction and flowing vertically along the path of another droplet.

A flash of lightning snapped Charlie out of his trance and he just caught sight of a figure outside moving toward the trees before disappearing back into the night. It was only a short glimpse, but Charlie was almost certain the figure had been that of a person; a very small person.

He raced out of his bedroom and up the stairs toward the very highest bedroom. A knot was forming in the pit of his stomach as he approached Ron's open door. Taking a deep breath, Charlie cast an illumination charm and swore as he stared at Ron's disheveled, empty bed.

Charlie flew back down the stairs, no longer attempting to be quiet to avoid waking anyone, as he sped toward his parents' bedroom. He grabbed his father by the arm and shook him awake, waking his mother in the process.

Molly fumbled for her wand and illuminated the bedroom, squinting against the harsh light to look at Charlie.

"Ron's gone off outside!" Charlie exclaimed, not waiting for his parents to question his presence in their bedroom.

Both Molly and Arthur scrambled out of bed and hurried downstairs, summoning their coats and welly boots and putting them on as they headed outside. Charlie followed close behind as they disappeared into the storm.

It was difficult to see where they were going, between the dark shadow of the evening and the heavy rain. Both Molly and Arthur had their wands lit and the occasional flashes of lightning aided them somewhat as they made their way in the direction Charlie had pointed out.

One particular flash of lighting allowed them to see exactly what they were after. Ron was moving at a slow pace toward the forest, stopping every once in a while and taking a step backwards. The trio of concerned Weasleys sped to Ron's side, Arthur lifting Ron into his arms as soon as he was within reach.

Ron was panting hard and seemed to be fighting against his own body. "Let go of me!" He screamed, fighting to free himself of Arthur's grip before going limp and looking up at his father. "Dad?"

"That's it, son," Arthur said, trying to smile convincingly at Ron. "Keep fighting it, my boy."

Ron glared at Arthur, clenching his teeth and trying to kick himself free. Arthur clutched him tightly and walked back to the house as quickly as he could with his son flailing and kicking at him.

"Where on Earth was he going?" Molly sighed as they returned to the warmth of the kitchen.

Charlie frowned and looked back into the dark outside toward the forest. The vision of Ron stumbling out of the forest only weeks before pushed its way from Charlie's memory.

"Where were you going, Ronnie?" Charlie whispered to himself.

-o-o-

There you have it. Keep checking in for the next chapter. Enjoy the beginning of 2012!


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: I officially suck at updating. :p So sorry to all of my readers for making you wait so long. I'm on holiday for the next week, so I've finally had a moment to sit down and write a new chapter. I hope you like it and thank you so much for being patient with me!

-o-o-

Ron rolled on to his side, pulling his blanket tight to keep in the warmth. His mum and dad had gone back to bed only moments before after having sat with him most of the night. He'd pretended he was asleep so that they would go to bed. He hated to think that his parents were exhausting themselves for him.

From the moment his parents stepped out of his bedroom, the temperature in the room rapidly decreased. Ron shivered and pulled his knees to his chest. He closed his eyes tight, knowing he was no longer alone in the room.

A small, cold hand touched his shoulder, chilling him through the blanket. Shocked, Ron opened his eyes to find the girl with the short, black hair standing in front of him. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she choked back a sob. Ron froze and stared at the girl, too scared to move.

"We're running out of time," she sniffed. "You have to tell them before it takes over. You can't let it get out."

She kept her eyes on Ron as he struggled to find something to say. He couldn't decide if he should fear the girl or do as she was asking. She didn't seem like a threat, but whatever it was he kept doing to upset his family had started when she showed up.

He didn't know if he could trust her.

But maybe if he did what she wanted she would leave him alone.-

He slipped out of bed apprehensively, maintaining eye contact with the girl to make sure she didn't jump at him. He took a few side steps away from the bed before breaking into a run and racing downstairs toward his parents' bedroom. As he neared the room, his pace slowed. When he reached the doorway he stopped all together. His face went slack and his irises became red as his lips curled up into a sinister grin.

Upstairs, the little girl walked quietly toward Ginny's bedroom.

-o-o-

Arthur shuffled into the toilet and stood in front of the sink before running the facet and splashing water over his face. He squinted at himself in the mirror rubbed the stubble on his face before picking up his wand and casting a quick shaving spell. He yawned and shuffled back out of the toilet, heading down the stairs to the main floor to brew a cup of coffee to give him the kick he needed to wake himself up.

He stopped short at the doorway of the kitchen, the need for caffeine quickly dissipating as he took in the state of the room. There were scribbles on the walls, the cupboards, the floor and his son was fighting with a quill, desperately trying to write something on yesterday's copy of the Daily Prophet while muttering under his breath.

"Ronnie?" Arthur asked softly as he approached his son and gently placed his hands on his shoulders. He looked down at the scribbles Ron was scrawling across the text of the Daily Prophet and attempted to decipher what his son was trying to get across.

Unable to make out Ron's writing from the words already on the paper, Arthur quickly scrambled to find a clear sheet of parchment and slipped it over the Prophet.

Beads of sweat were forming along Ron's hairline and he was beginning to pant as he struggled to control the quill. Every time he put the quill to the parchment his arm flinched to the side, preventing him from writing the message the monster inside of him wouldn't let him say. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed his arm with his other hand and forced it down on the table. The letters he was creating on the page were sloppy, but legible.

H… E… L…

He suddenly lost control of his hand and it began writing of its own accord. Ron whimpered as he watched words being written on the parchment by his hand that he had no intention of writing. Arthur watched in shock for a moment before coming back to himself and grabbing the quill away from Ron.

"It's ok, son," he said as he lifted Ron into his arms and cuddled him tightly. Ron went limp in his arms, completely spent from his morning endeavors. Arthur could feel his son breathing heavily against his chest and he turned so that the parchment was out of Ron's line of sight. He did his best to comfort his son as he stared at the words scrawled across the parchment.

Kill… Kill… Kill…Kill…

-o-o-o-

"He tries to fight it," Molly whimpered, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

Curtis had returned to the Burrow to find Ron completely out of control. One moment he would be tearing around the house, destroying everything in sight and attempting to hurt anyone he could get close to. The next, he was hiding in corners, terrified of himself and refusing to let anyone touch him.

Curtis and Arthur had managed to carry Ron up to his room and cast a spell over Ron's bed to keep him from going anywhere. While Arthur stayed upstairs with Ron, Curtis and Molly returned to the kitchen to discuss Ron's recent decline.

"That's a good sign, Molly," Curtis replied, attempting to give her some hope. He'd dealt with possessions before, but this one was definitely one of the worst he'd seen. Demons came in all shapes and sizes and some were more powerful than others. Getting them out of the host wasn't always easy.

"I've sent the younger children to stay with friends," Molly sniffed, worrying the tissue in her hands. "Charlie and Bill refused to go, but their old enough to defend themselves if they have to."

"Where are they now?" Curtis asked, pushing a box of tissue toward Molly to replace the one she'd used.

"They've gone out to the garden," Molly replied. "They said something about Ron's behaviour starting somewhere out there."

"Do you think he may have gotten into something outside?" Curtis asked. "Do you know much about the magic in this area?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Molly replied. "We have our fair share of magical creatures. None that I know would cause Ron to act out."

"What about the history around this area?" Curtis asked.

"I really don't know," Molly replied. "Oh, I forgot I hadn't mentioned Ron's last escapade. The other night, there was a terrible storm and Charlie had found Ron wandering around outside."

"Where was he going?" Curtis asked, getting up and walking to the kitchen window. He could see Charlie and Bill standing by their father's shed with their brooms having an animated conversation and pointing toward the trees that surrounded the Weasley's home. Curtis looked over at the area they were pointing at and chewed at his fingernail thoughtfully.

"Our nearest neighbor is four miles up the hill over that way," Molly replied as she joined him at the window. "We found Ron going in that direction." Her finger extended toward the same area that Bill and Charlie were heading with brooms in hand. "There's nothing over there though.

"Were Charlie and Bill able to pinpoint what Ron was doing when he started acting strangely?" Curtis asked.

"Playing 'Hide-and-Seek', I believe," Molly replied.

Curtis stepped back from the window, frowning and considering the new information he'd just been given. As he watched Bill and Charlie disappear over the forest, a string of shouted curses and the sound of something crashing sent both Curtis and Molly racing upstairs to Ron's room.


	25. Chapter 25

Curtis and Molly burst into Ron's bedroom to find Arthur waving his wand and repairing a shattered window. Ron had his hands clasped over his mouth, his eyes wide with shock from his own actions. According to Arthur, the demon had become upset with being restrained to the bed and had forced Ron to throw a book through his bedroom window along with shouted profanities.

"Did anyone get hurt?" Molly asked as she sat next to Ron and rubbed his back.

"We're all fine," Arthur replied. "No harm done." He smiled at Ron and set the book he'd thrown out the window on the bedside table.

"I really hope those words you've been using aren't words your brothers have been teaching you," Molly sighed.

"I've never even heard that last one I said before," Ron said softly, looking up at his mom with eyes still wide.

"And I never want to hear it come from your mouth again," Molly warned. Ron nodded emphatically and shivered.

Everyone became quiet as a feminine voice called from the sitting room. Molly quickly got up and hurried down the stairs, leaving the three boys in Ron's room.

She could see the green glow of the floo before she'd reached the bottom of the stairs. Bernice Diggory's head was protruding from the floo and she was calling out for any of the Weasleys to answer.

"Sorry, Bernice," Molly announced. "We were all upstairs. Is everything all right? How are the children?"

"We're all fine, Molly," Bernice replied. "Ginny asked me to call. She says she really needs to speak with you; something about Ronnie."

"Thank you, Bernice. Put her through," Molly nodded. She stepped back as Bernice's head disappeared and Ginny stepped out of the fireplace.

"Ginny, dear," Molly sighed as she embraced her daughter. "What is it, love?"

"I should have told you before," Ginny sniffed, her bottom lip trembling as she tried not to cry. "But I was too scared."

"Scared of what, sweetheart?" Molly coaxed.

"The little girl," Ginny replied. "She came and told me Ron was in trouble. He was supposed to warn you, but the monster wouldn't let him."

Molly stepped back, holding Ginny's shoulders. She knelt down so that she was eye level with Ginny and tried to take in what she was saying.

"Warn us about what? What monster?" Molly asked, trying not to let her daughter see how concerned she was.

"Ron accidently let the monster out," Ginny replied. "He couldn't tell you, so the little girl tried to show you what happened. That's why he looks hurt some times. That's what the monster did to the little girl and her family. She said it's getting too strong and it's going to get out unless we put it back."

Molly felt like her mind was racing a mile a minute. Everything that had happened to Ron was an illusion. All this time he was trying to pass on a warning. She had to tell Curtis and Arthur.

-o-o-o-

_David rolled on the ground, thrashing his legs to keep the beast from getting a grip on him. His foot connected with the beast, catching it off guard and giving David a second to get back on his feet and run deeper into the forest. _

_He could hear the beast roar angrily. It wasn't far behind him. David's eyes looked over his surroundings as he ran. There was nothing but trees. No sign of life anywhere. He spotted a tree just a few feet away, its roots were somewhat above the ground creating a small space underneath. David dashed toward the tree and threw himself under the roots. He had just enough time to grab his wand as the beast grabbed his leg._

_One spell came to mind as he was dragged out from beneath the tree. Without giving it a second thought, David shouted the incantation and watched as the tip of his wand illuminated. Time seemed to stop as he felt his chest ripped open by the beast's claws. _

_Suddenly the beast was engulfed in the spell. David, the beast, and the tree were wrapped in light. Illuminated symbols tore into the tree and across the beast's skin. The beast roared, both in anger and surprise, as it began to fuse with the tree. Both David and the beast sank into the tree, disappearing along with the light, leaving behind nothing but silence in the rainy night._

-o-o-

"We have to find what Ron was looking for," said Curtis as he and Arthur stepped outside. "It sounds to me like Ron opened up an old concealment charm. It will have been old magic, so the only way to get the beast out of Ron is to put it back where it came from."

"What if we can't find where this beast was concealed?" Arthur asked.

"We will," Curtis replied. "Ron was looking for it the other night; or the demon, rather. It needs to destroy the place where the curse was placed in order to be completely free. It's using Ron's body to do it. Once it does, it will take Ron over completely and kill everything it can in order to get the magic it needs.

"Do you think it's somewhere in the garden?" Arthur asked.

"It's possible," replied Curtis. "It must be outside somewhere. Does Ron have a hideaway somewhere? Maybe a fort or a clubhouse he plays in?"

"No," replied Arthur after some thought.

"But Charlie and Bill had mentioned that Ron began acting strange after a game of Hide-and-Seek!" Molly exclaimed. "They said he had come from somewhere in the forest out back."

"I'll go search around," Curtis suggested. "Molly, can you keep Ron occupied and comfortable. Don't let him know what we're up to. Arthur, will you help me search the grounds?"

Both of the adult Weasleys nodded and split up. Molly went to the kitchen to prepare something for Ron to snack on while Curtis and Arthur darted out the door to search the Weasleys' property.

As Molly placed a handful of cheddar biscuits on a plate for Ron, the room suddenly became extraordinarily cold and eerily quiet. She silently put the plate back onto the counter and turned around, expecting to see her youngest son standing in the door frame with a malicious grin spread across his face. Her heart was pounding in her chest, adrenaline pumping, ready to face the demon that had stolen her son, but her little boy was not there. She let go of the breath she was holding and turned to grab the plate of biscuits, yelping with surprise when she turned to see Ron sitting at the table already eating the snack.

Molly took a step back and put her hand to her chest. Ron was sitting quietly at the table, staring blankly up at his mother as he chewed. His lips turned into an evil grin as his pupils became red.

"What's the matter, mommy?" Ron asked softly with a malicious undertone.

"Get out of my boy!" Molly growled. She gripped the back of one of the chairs until her knuckles turned white. She desperately wanted to grab Ron and shake the demon out of him.

Ron stood up slowly and pulled the plate off the table, allowing it to shatter into pieces on the floor.

"Come on, Ronnie," said Molly, changing her tactic. "You can fight this. Come back to mommy, sweetheart."

"Your little Ronnie isn't here anymore," Ron chuckled. He began walking around the table toward Molly, stepping on the shards of glass on the floor and cutting into his feet, leaving streaks of blood on the floor with each footstep. "But there's no need to worry. Soon, your entire family will join him."

With that, he leapt at Molly and wrapped his fingers around her neck.

-o-o-

A/N: Wow, I don't think I can apologise enough for making you all wait for so long! Thank you to those of you who are still reading this. I fully intended to update this story in April of last year. I have a general idea of how I want to continue this story, but I absolutely suck at writing endings and I want to give this story a proper conclusion. I won't promise a specific date for the next update other than I will not make you wait an entire year! Thanks again for reading and for your reviews.


	26. Chapter 26

Ron's little body fell into a heap on the floor. Molly took a step back, wand in hand, with a look of both surprise and regret. She put her hand over her mouth and slowly approached Ron.

"I'm so sorry, Ronnie," Molly gasped as she knelt next to her son and lifted him into her arms. Ron's head tilted back limply and his eyes remained closed as she lifted him off of the floor and carried him back to his bedroom. She gently placed Ron back on to his bed and covered him with his blanket. She frowned as she brushed her fingers through his hair, wondering how he had broken through the enchantment they had cast to keep him in bed.

As she stepped back and re-cast the spell, Ron's eyes snapped open and he leapt at her. As his feet left the bed, Ron's body hit the enchantment and he was thrown back against the mattress. An unearthly scream filled the room as the demon inside of Ron let out its frustration.

"Fucking bitch!" the demon growled.

"Get out of my son!" Molly snapped.

Ron stood on the bed and looked down at Molly with a sinister grin.

"Help me, mommy," the demon whimpered. "Let me out, please?"

Molly faltered and took a step back before turning and racing out of the room. She slammed the door, cast a locking charm behind her, and ran back down the stairs to the kitchen to compose herself. She stared longingly out the kitchen window, silently wishing Arthur would return so she wouldn't be left alone with the shell of her son and the demon that was stealing him away from her.

Outside, Arthur and Curtis had met up with Charlie and Bill in the forest. The boys had done a quick sweep of the area on their brooms, searching for anything that stood out. Unable to find anything unusual, they landed next to their dad and continued searching on foot.

"What are we looking for, exactly?" Arthur asked.

"Any signs of magic," Curtis replied, "auras, texts and carvings, lights, large populations of fairies or imps…"

"Lights?" Charlie asked; his gaze fixed in the direction they had originally come from. An orb of blue light moved quickly toward the group of men. As it got closer, the light took on the form of a lioness and trotted toward them. Sitting on its hindquarters, the lioness opened her mouth and Molly's voice echoed through the forest.

"Arthur, come quick! I need your help!"

The lioness dissipated, leaving the men in the dark once again. Without hesitation, Arthur took off running toward the Burrow with Charlie, Bill, and Curtis close on his heels. An unearthly howl filled the air and the lights within the Burrow flickered. Molly's silhouette could be seen standing just outside the house. They approached her quickly and looked up at Ron's window.

"I want that thing out of my boy now!" Molly sobbed.

"I know, Mol," Arthur sighed. "We're working on it, darling."

The house suddenly went silent and the lamps filled the house with light once again. The only sound that could be heard was the crickets in the garden and the wind rustling through the leaves.

"I don't know which is creepier," Charlie whispered to Bill. "The chaos or the silence?"

"I'm going to go with the latter," Bill whispered back.

"Wands at the ready, everyone," Curtis whispered as he gripped his wand and began making his way toward the house. He stepped quietly through the front door, followed by the four Weasleys, and made his way through the kitchen.

The inside of the house was eerily quiet; however, many objects were out of place. The apples that had once been nestled in the fruit bowl on the table were now floating in circles just above the bowl. Every cupboard door was open and the contents of each cupboard were overturned.

In the sitting room, the tuner on the wireless was changing the stations; never stopping for very long on a particular program. Every portrait on the wall was empty and all of the books were opened to page thirteen.

The bannister on the staircase looked as though it had melted. It was sagging and lopsided and seemed almost as though it was made of jelly.

Curtis and the four Weasleys slowly ascended the stairs, cautiously anticipating an attack at any moment. Ron's bedroom door was ajar and the light on the ceiling was swinging back and forth casting shadows that stretched and shrunk in a steady rhythm.

Five wands were held erect as the witch and wizards entered the room. Ron was no longer contained on his bed, which was flipped completely over, bedframe and all.

"Mom?" Ron whimpered from the corner of the room. Molly was about to run toward Ron, but Curtis and Arthur quickly held her back.

"Look at his eyes, Molly," Curtis whispered. "It's not Ron."

Molly took a good look at her little boy. He was drenched in sweat and shaking uncontrollably. His eyes were no longer the bright blue he'd inherited from his father, but were now a devilish red. He had a pained expression on his face and tears streaked down his cheeks as he stared at his mother.

"Mommy, please!" Ron sobbed. "Help me!"

"It's a trick," Curtis whispered. "Don't let it fool you. Watch his eyes, Molly. You'll know if it's him by looking at his eyes."

"I can't do this," Molly whimpered. "I can't." Arthur pulled her close, keeping his wand pointed at Ron.

"I see you've tapped into the boy's powers," Curtis declared.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ron sneered; making the floorboards rattle and shift beneath their feet. "This is all little Ronnie's doing."

"What will it take to get you to leave?" Curtis asked.

"I'm not going anywhere," Ron replied calmly as he walked menacingly toward the group. "I'm having a great time here and I still have so much to do; so much magic to consume." He licked his lips and looked up at Arthur and Molly. "I hit the jackpot: nine witches and wizards under one roof. Once I've finished off with little Ronnie I'll have all the power I need to pick off the rest of you."

In that split second, magic crackled across the room, striking Ron square in the chest. Bill dropped his wand and took a step back, clearly surprised at his own actions. Ron was sprawled out on the floor, completely knocked out from the spell Bill had cast. Everyone dropped their wands and turned to face Bill.

"I'm sorry," he replied. "I wasn't thinking. It just happened."

"It's all right, my boy," Arthur sighed. "I wanted to do it too, but I couldn't help thinking that Ron is still in there."

"Dad?" Ron groaned as he pushed himself to a sitting position.

Everyone turned back to Ron and raised their wands. Ron's jaw dropped and he looked at each of them with surprise.

"It's Ron," Curtis gasped.

Molly was the first to reach Ron. She gathered him in her arms and squeezed him tightly. Ron's body stiffened and he grunted through gritted teeth.

"Ronnie?" Molly gasped.

"Tr…tree," Ron grunted before going limp and passing out in his mother's arms. Molly looked up at Curtis questioningly, still holding Ron tight.


	27. Chapter 27

Ron was lifted back into his bed and multiple spells were cast to keep him there. The five adults left the bedroom, leaving the door open in hopes of hearing Ron once he regained consciousness.

"Doesn't give us much to go on, does it?" Charlie asked as he peered out the kitchen window. A forest full of trees loomed in the darkness outside. Finding one specific tree was not going to be a simple task.

"He tried his best," Molly sighed. Arthur smiled and placed wrapped his arms around her, embracing her comfortingly.

"We'll find it, Molly love," he whispered.

"When we do, we'll have a better idea of how to evict this monster from your son," said Curtis.

The sound of splintering wood and twisting metal caused everyone to go silent. They looked over at the kitchen cupboards as the doors were pulled off of their hinges by an invisible force. A few of the doors came free and clattered to the floor while others dangled from what was left of the hinges. Small spider web cracks began forming on each of the kitchen windows and sewage began bubbling up in the kitchen sink.

"He wasn't out long," Bill sighed.

"We best get out there," Charlie announced. "The sooner we find Ron's tree, the sooner we can be rid of that thing."

Bill nodded and followed Charlie out to the back garden. Curtis followed quickly behind, leaving Arthur and Molly standing alone in the active kitchen.

"We'll let them go ahead," Arthur suggested. "I'm not leaving you alone with that thing again and we can't both leave it here on its own. Who knows what sort of trouble it will cause."

"It seems to be hell-bent on destroying my kitchen," Molly sighed.

"When this is all over I'll fix everything good as new," Arthur stated, moving toward the staircase to make sure Ron hadn't broken free of the spells they had cast.

Molly moved to the window and peered outside, trying to spot Charlie, Bill, and Curtis. Unable to see them in the dark, she sat at the kitchen table and waved her wand, moving the tea kettle to the stove to boil water for tea.

"Mommy?" Ron called from his bedroom. "I need you! Please, come help me!"

Molly closed her eyes and inhale deeply to calm herself.

Outside, the three young men had split up in hopes of finding the tree that held the answers to Ron's possession faster. Curtis held his wand in front of him, its illuminated tip guiding him through the thousands of trees. He had some idea of what to look for and had told the Weasley boys before they had split. The tree would be old with a large crack of knot that Ron could have fit through. There were a few spells that would interact with charms place on the tree, but they would only work in close proximity to the tree.

Charlie walked quickly through the forest, waving his wand at each and every tree he passed, hoping that one of the trees would display signs of having been magically charmed.

Bill on the other hand had walked a fair distance into the forest and stood silently, looking around at each tree for any of the signs that Curtis had told them about. He tried to put himself into Ron's shoes, back when they were playing Hide-and-Seek.

He couldn't imagine Ron going too far. Their mother had warned them about wandering into the forest and Ron wouldn't dare disobey their mother. From where he was standing he could still see the Burrow as well as their father's shed. He took a few steps further into the forest until the house was just about out of sight, then stood and looked around.

Most of the trees in the area he was standing in were quite new. Their trunks weren't too wide. He could wrap his arms around most of them and still be able to clasp his hands together. The trees to his left were about the same, but there were a few trees to his right that were significantly larger.

He knelt by the first large tree and ran his hand along the bark. It was definitely and older tree, but didn't have any holes or spaces where Ron could have hidden away.

Suddenly something caught his eye. A glint of gold made him turn and walk toward another tree. This tree had been torn up by its roots at some point; possibly from a rather large gust of wind. Its roots had been pulled up on one side, creating a small area just the right size for Ron to crawl into.

Bill got onto his knees and bent to look into the underside of the tree. He waved his wand, casting the spell that Curtis had shown him and Charlie. His eyes grew wide as the entire tree was engulfed in light. As the light dimmed, hundreds of glowing, red symbols covered the tree momentarily before disappearing back into the bark.

"Found you," Bill breathed, smiling with the pride of his accomplishment. He ran his hand along the bark of the tree, trying to see the symbols that had only seconds ago been fully visible before calling for Charlie and Curtis.

"What the hell is that?" Charlie asked as he approached Bill and the tree.

"Oh… shit," Curtis sighed.

-o-o-

Charlie and Bill stood back and watched Curtis who was standing silently with his hands on the tree. He had cast a spell that allowed him to see the exact moment the spell had been cast over the tree. The hope was that he would get a clearer idea of what sort of demon and situation they were dealing with.

Curtis had already explained that the spell cast on the tree left them with only one option for evicting the demon from Ron's body. The only way to get it out was to cast the same spell that had trapped the demon's soul in the tree in the first place. The original spell was only a temporary fix, as well. They were going to have to trap the demon's soul back into the tree then release the demon again to destroy it for good. To make matters worse, there was a very good chance they could trap or destroy Ron's soul in the process.

"Looks like we're dealing with a power sucker, lads," Curtis sighed.

"Meaning?" Charlie asked, locking eyes with Curtis expectantly.

"Meaning we have to be really careful not to let it overpower Ron. That thing already has enough control over Ron to have tapped into his powers. We can't let it get full control." If we let it get any stronger, we'll have no way to get Ron back and if we don't get the demon's soul back into that tree it could possess anyone nearby.

"Your saying we have to get Ron over to this tree then?" Bill stated.

"And the power sucker is not going to want to come anywhere near this tree," Curtis continued. "This is not going to be easy."

"We need to somehow pull Ron to the surface long enough to get him down here," Bill added. "When we knocked him out earlier Ron was able to regain a bit of control. Is there a spell that could knock out the demon for… ten minutes?"

"No," Curtis replied. "But there _is_ a potion. The trick is trying to get him to drink it. This demon is not stupid. It's going to expect foul play."

"So what if we don't serve it as a potion?" Charlie suggested.

-o-o-

"Are you ready, Molly?" Curtis asked. The quintet was gathered in Arthur's shed, out of earshot from the demon.

The plan was to have Molly serve Ron dinner just as she always did, but with the potion mixed into each of the food items. The trick was to be convincing. Everyone knew it was going to be difficult for Molly to be inconspicuous, but she was always the one to bring Ron food, so it had to be her.

"Just do what you always do, love," Arthur instructed. "Do you usually stop and talk or do you walk in and out?"

"I usually try to talk to him," Molly replied softly. "Every once in a while I'm able to get through to Ron… though less and less frequently."

"It's almost over, Molly," said Arthur, wrapping his arms around Molly with encouragement. "We'll have our boy back in no time."

Molly nodded and hugged her arms around herself and sighed. This was all far too much for any mother to have to endure. She missed her son and she wished nothing more than for the demon inside of him to disappear.

"Go back to the house and prepare dinner as though it's any other night," Curtis directed. "Call us in when you're ready and go deliver a plate without making a big deal of it. If Arthur and the boys and I stay out here, the demon will assume we're up to something. Hopefully that will keep any suspicions about the food at bay." He handed her a small vile containing the potion he had brewed for the demon. She glanced at it quickly before slipping it into the pocket of her apron.

"You promise this won't hurt Ron?" Molly asked.

"You have my word," Curtis replied. Biting her lip nervously, Molly turned away and stepped out of the shed before heading back into the house.

"Mommy? Is that you?" the demon called from Ron's bedroom. She could hear the smile in his voice, which let her know immediately that it was not Ron who was calling for her. She did her best to ignore the taunts from the demon upstairs and set about making dinner. She did her best to prepare an inconspicuous meal; something she'd often prepared for the family in the past to avoid raising suspicion.

As she cooked, she ignored the kitchen items that floated past her and the cupboard doors as they opened slowly and slammed closed. When dinner was prepared, she called out the window to the men in the shed before dishing up a plate and carrying it upstairs to Ron's bedroom.

She stepped into the room and looked at her son, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed and grinning up at her.

"Here's your dinner, Ronnie," she said, avoiding eye contact. "Are you still there, little one?"

"Can I come out now, mum?" Ron asked, his voice still not sounding quite like his own. "I promise I'll be good. I'm sorry I made you and dad cross. Do you still love me, mommy?"

"Please, leave him now," Molly begged softly, trying not to cry. "He's just a boy."

"The young ones are the most fun to tear apart," the demon replied, no longer sounding like Ron. "They have so much life to them. They fight so much harder." His sinister smile met Molly's gaze as she dared to look at him for a brief second. "You'll all be together again, in the end. I'll save you for last so you can watch me rip open every one of your ragged little children."

Molly shut her eyes tight and half ran out of the room. She raced down the stairs and into Arthur's arms just as he walked into the kitchen. She clung to him tightly, unable to form any coherent words to explain what the demon had told her.

"How will we know if it's worked?" Arthur asked in a whisper.

"Ron will let us know," Curtis replied.

-o-o-

They all sat silently in the sitting room, waiting for a sign that the demon had eaten the potion. No one had spoken since dinner and everyone was on edge. Charlie had chewed three fingernails down to the skin and Molly went back and forth between cleaning the mess in the kitchen and sitting next to Arthur on the sofa.

The demon continued to beckon for them, sometimes with Ron's voice and other times with this own. The taunts were constant and objects in the room continued to take on a life of their own. Bill was sitting on a reclining chair, batting away a candlestick the persistently floated towards his face.

Suddenly the voices stopped. The candlestick fell into Bill's lap while other objects that had been floating clattered to the floor. Everyone jumped up and looked at Curtis.

"We have to move quickly," Curtis announced, running for the staircase. "We haven't much time!"

The lot of them stampeded up the stairs and into Ron's room to find him laying half-conscious on his bed. His breathing was laboured and his eyes were rolled back.

"Ronnie?" Molly gasped, gathering her son into her arms. "Can you hear me? Wake up, darling?"

"Let's go," said Curtis as he looked at the half-empty plate of food on the bed. "Quickly!"

Arthur took Ron from Molly and followed Curtis back downstairs as quickly as his legs would take him. Molly, Bill, and Charlie followed close behind. They raced to the back garden without exchanging a word and disappeared into the black forest.

Curtis had left a mark on the tree, which let off a bright glow in order to lead them straight to their destination. Arthur placed Ron against the tree, as Curtis had instructed him to prior to dinner, and stepped back. No one was to be in close proximity to Ron or the tree when Curtis cast the spell for fear of the demon entering their bodies when its soul was released from Ron.

The Weasleys stood back silently as Curtis cast the spell. The entire tree lit up with the ancient markings of the old magic that had once been cast upon it. A heavy wind picked up suddenly, whipping through the leaves and kicking up the dried foliage from the ground. It wrapped around Ron and the tree, enveloping them in a bright light and dust, and obstructing them from view.

In a second everything went dark and quiet. The markings on the tree disappeared and the dust and leaves fell to the forest floor, unmoving.

Ron's body lay still against the tree. He didn't move. He didn't blink. He didn't breathe.

"Ronnie?" Arthur asked, kneeling next to his son and gently patting his cheek in hopes of reviving him. Ron's head tipped lifelessly to the side, pulling his body along with it and causing him to fall over. Arthur grabbed him before he hit the ground and pulled him close, pressing his ear to his son's chest to listen for a heartbeat.

"No!" Molly shrieked, collapsing next to her son and her husband as she watched the expression on Arthur's face.

Ron was dead.

-o-o-

A/N: As always, I apologise for taking SO long to update this story. I am absolute crap at writing endings for stories, so I usually end up either writing something disappointing or taking forever to get my butt in gear and sitting down to come up with something.

My hope is to add the next chapter before the end of July, so keep checking in!

Thanks to those of you who have read this far and a big thanks to those who have written reviews. I love reading them and appreciate the positive feedback and constructive criticisms!


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: This is it, peeps. Thanks so much to those of you who have read this far and a special thank you to those of you who have left reviews. I hope you have enjoyed this story and thank you for your patience. I have such a hard time with endings and I hope I have done this story justice for you. Enjoy this final chapter!

-o-o-

"What have you done?" Molly bawled, clutching Ron tightly as Arthur tried to get her and Ron away from the tree.

"It's only temporary, Molly," Curtis replied, unsure of whether he should help Arthur or back away to avoid the wrath of Molly.

"Hurry, darling," Arthur grunted, lifting Ron into his arms. "We have to get away from the tree."

"You knew!" Molly snapped. "You knew Ronnie was going to die!"

Arthur shook his head silently and began moving away from the tree, followed closely by Molly. "This was the only way," Arthur replied, struggling not to cry as Ron's body dangled limply in his arms.

"Everyone clear away from the tree," Curtis instructed. "Quickly! We don't have much time if we're going to get Ron back."

"The only way we could get the demon out was to pull both of their souls out of his body," Arthur choked as he and Molly turned to watch Curtis. "The demon was too strong. It had more control of Ron's body than Ron did. Their souls were connected."

Molly was too angry and too distraught to reply. She held Ron's head in her hands and gently kissed his forehead. Charlie and Bill quickly raced to their parents' side and watched as Curtis began casting a spell. The forest was silent apart from the muttered words Curtis began chanting. It was an old spell; magic Molly had never experienced for herself. She watched closely as the tree began to light up, beginning at the bottom and moving up into the branches.

Curtis increased the volume of the spell, raising his arms as a beam of red light shot out of the top of the tree, illuminating the clouds above. There was a loud rumbling beneath their feet and a sudden snap as the tree cracked right through the middle.

Three white orbs of light shot out of the crack in the tree and hovered at the exposed roots.

"Charlie! The doxy! Now!" Curtis shouted with urgency. Charlie quickly passed a small, cloth bag to Curtis. Curtis opened the bag and threw the small, irritated fairy over to the tree. All three of the orbs moved toward the magical creature, but one moved far faster than the rest and disappeared within the body of the fairy. The other two orbs backed off as the doxy stood, frozen, on the grass in front of the base of the tree.

The doxy examined its hands and began experimenting with the movement of its limbs. It looked up at the Molly and the men with an expression of loathing.

"Quickly, bring Ron!" Curtis shouted to Arthur. Arthur moved as fast as his tired muscles would allow him to and placed Ron in front of the tree.

"Why are there two?" Arthur asked uneasily, eyeing the two orbs hovering above his son's body.

"One of them isn't Ron," Curtis replied as he cast a freezing spell on the doxy. They watched as one of the orbs backed away from Ron's body and disappeared around the tree. The last orb hovered over Ron's body for a moment before sinking into Ron's chest and disappearing from view.

The group watched in silence. Ron remained still for a moment then his chest slowly began to rise and fall. His face scrunched up and he rubbed his eyes before sitting up and looking around, not sure of where he was or how he'd gotten there.

"Ron?" Arthur asked, not sure if the orb that had gone into his son was actually Ron's soul.

Ron turned and looked at his father and smiled. "Dad?" he gasped. "What happened?"

Without a word, both Molly and Arthur ran to Ron's side and embraced him tightly.

"How do we know it's really Ron?" Bill asked, pulling Curtis aside.

"Well, we know this one is the demon for sure," Curtis replied, lifting the frozen doxy off the ground and examining the ugly expression on its face.

"But the other ball of light…" Charlie began. He stopped short when he noticed Molly's stunned expression as she stared at something behind them. Curtis and the boys turned and took a step back as four ghostly figures made their way toward them.

Bill grabbed Charlie's shoulder, forcing him to turn back to the tree where the spirt of a young man had stepped out from behind the tree. The spirit of a young girl with short brown hair ran away from the group and raced over to the young man, embracing him tightly. The other spirits moved quickly toward the young man, joining together in a group embrace as the Weasleys and Curtis watched in awe.

Sophie, David, Alice, Helen, and Edward, the father turned to look at the group watching them. David smiled and placed his hand on his chest, mouthing the words "thank you". Sophie wrapped her arms around her brother and smiled down at Ron then looked up at her brother.

As the grouped looked on, the spirits began to disappear before their eyes until they were looking at nothing more than the dark forest.

"I don't understand," said Charlie, breaking the silence.

"Sophie's brother got trapped in the tree when he tried to stop the monster," Ron replied. "The monster killed his family and came after him." He looked up at his parents. "I wanted to tell you, but the monster wouldn't let me."

"It's so good to have you back," Molly sniffed, pulling Ron into a tight embrace and refusing to let go.

"But we haven't gotten rid of it," Bill stated, looking at the frozen doxy.

"Your father and I are going to take care of it," Curtis explained. "Why don't you boys go help your mother get Ron settled in the house? We'll be along in a moment."

Molly pulled Ron to his feet and the four Weasleys made their way to the burrow while Molly announced all of the food she was going to serve in celebration of having her youngest son back alive and well.

"I didn't want your children or wife to watch," Curtis sighed, "but I assume one of you will need to witness that this thing was actually destroyed." Arthur nodded, standing back as Curtis tossed the doxy onto the ground and cast the killing curse.

The monster was weak, having just inhabited the new body. It had no chance to escape and its soul was destroyed along with the doxy's. The men did away with the body of the doxy and made their way toward the house.

-o-o-

"Ready or not, here I come!" Ginny shouted, uncovering her eyes and looking around the garden. She raced toward her father's shed in hopes of finding one of her brothers. Molly watched from the kitchen window and smiled.

It was the last day of summer and the older children were going to be heading to Hogwarts the following morning. Their bags were packed and their school supplies had been purchased the week before.

It was Bill's idea to spend time with the younger Weasleys for the day and Ginny's suggestion to play hide and seek. Molly loved the moments when all of her children were getting along and spending time together.

The Weasley household had returned to normal and all was well with the family. Curtis had left the day after the demon had been exorcised with a trunk full of baked goods from Molly.

Molly started as the sitting room lit up and Arthur stepped out of the floo. He walked into the kitchen and brushed himself off before kissing Molly's cheek and wrapping his arm around her waist.

"All is well, I expect?" he asked, looking out the window and watching Ginny chase Percy toward the back step, which had been designated as 'home free'.

"Couldn't be better," Molly sighed, resting her head on Arthur's shoulder.

-o-o-

Ron raced through the trees until he couldn't see any of his siblings anymore. He could hear Ginny and Percy shouting, so he knew he hadn't gone too far into the forest.

He spotted a large, gnarled tree and ran to hide behind it. He recognized the tree and knew there was a large hollow where the roots had pulled away from the ground, making it an ideal spot to hide. Getting on his hands and knees, Ron crawled beneath the tree and waited for his sister to come searching for him.

As his vision adjusted to the lack of light within the tree, he noticed the small intricate symbols that looked like they had been burned into the tree. He ran his hands along the symbols then stopped suddenly. He held his breath and remained as still as he could. A loud snap that within the tree and the small amount of day light that had been lighting the inside of the tree suddenly disappeared.

"Found you, Ron!" Ginny shouted, tagging her brother's foot and racing back to the house in a fit of giggles.

"Dang!" Ron grumbled loudly, climbing back out of the tree and racing after her sister. "How did you find me?"

The Weasley children raced around the back garden, laughing and shouting in the autumn sun. The tree that had caused the family so much turmoil stood, benign, a few meters within the forest. All magic within it was gone and it no longer posed a threat to anyone. David's spirit was free, the demon's spirit had been vanquished, and Ron's body and mind were once again his own.

-o-o-

A/N: I'd love to hear what you thought of this story. Constructive criticism is always welcome if it will help me to become a better write.

Thanks again for reading!


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